100 Ways to Fall in Love
by Seni
Summary: COMPLETE. All Usa/Mamo drabbles. Short snippets set in the first season that show how bickering can turn into affection. Read and Review, please!
1. Fortune Cookies

"So, what did you think?" asked an envious Motoki as Mamoru was unwrapping his complementary fortune cookie.

They had just exited the new Chinese family restaurant that opened up right across from Motoki's Crown Arcade.

"I doubt you'll have to worry about competition, Motoki." Answered Mamoru as he took the cookie out of its wrapper. "Everyone's been coming to your place far too long to just switch over; besides, your games will attract more attention than their free fortune cookies any day of the week." He reassured his friend.

"Thanks, Mamoru." Sighed a relieved Motoki. Competition was always bad for a business.

"Besides," Mamoru added, "You'll always have that Odango-brains to spend money at the Crown. She, alone, probably makes you more of a profit than all the other customers."

Motoki laughed knowing it was true as Mamoru proceeded to break his cookie in half to read the fortune.

Usa did love his milkshakes.

"Huh…" said Momoru, breaking Motoki out of his daze.

"What's up?" inquired Motoki in curiosity he glanced back to see that Mamoru had stopped walking and was a few feet away from him.

He turned around to see Mamoru, who was holding his fortune in interest between his fingers.

"True love is coming your way." Mamoru said out loud for Motoki to hear.

As soon as he finished reading the fortune, the one and only Usagi Tuskino knocked him down.

"Baka!!!" Screeched Usagi. "Gomen Nasai!" she apologized while Mamoru laid under her in a shock with his fortune still in his hands while both could hear Motoki's laughing, which was thoroughly confusing Usgai and mocking Mamoru.


	2. Secret Roses

"Oh, Tuxedo Mask," sighed Sailor Moon as she gazed at him.

The scouts and Tuxie had just finished off a monster with minimum damage to themselves. The other scouts had left, while their leader and Tuxedo Mask decided to stay for a quick after-moon-dusting chat.

"Sailor Moon," whispered Tuxedo Mask, "I want you to have something."

He quickly took out a red rose from his right breast pocket inside his tuxedo and proceeded to give it to her.

_This'll be one and only rose that won't disappear in the morning like the other ones I used to stun youmas with._

"I want you know," he started courageously, "that you'll never have anything to worry about while I'm here."

Sailor Moon took the rose and stared up at him with loving eyes.

The next morning, Serena rushed off to the Crown Arcade with the rose hidden in her hands.

I got a rose from Tuxie…I got a rose from Tuxie…I got a rose from Tuxie… 

Serena continued to sing the phrase in her head over and over again all the while staring down at her rose and smelling it over and over again.

"Wow," she said to her self, "It's like the sent just never goes away; it smells as strong as it did the night before."

She entered the arcade and sat down in her usual seat and failed to notice that Darien was already sitting down in the one next to her's.

"Whatcha got there, Meatball head?" questioned Darien as he noticed her looking into her cupped hands with delight. _What's Meatball Brains so lovey-dovey about?_

"Nuh-Uh, Jerk!" she scoffed, turning towards him, "Not even _you _can ruin my day today!"

"What? Me asking you one question ruins your entire day?" he mocked tweaking an eyebrow.

"All right, if you must know," Serena started figuring that answering this one question would be completely harmless.

"I must," interrupted Darien with an amused expression.

"Don't push it, Baka," she glared, "Anyway, it's a gift." She answered.

"Not from a guy, I'm thinking," declared Darien sipping another gulp of his morning coffee.

"Uh!" Serena gasped. "It _is_ from a guy, Ink hair!" she rebuked targeting his raven hair. "_Aaannnnd_," she added, "I'll have you know that it's from the greatest, handsomest, and bravest one of them all: Tuxedo Mask."

Her eyes had little hearts in them as she swooned over her dream guy.

_I **did not** give a rose to Meatball brains._ Thought Darien. _What is she **thinking?!** _

"Klutz," he addressed her, still not facing her, "If you're gonna come up with a lie to show off to your friends, I'd think of a more believable one."

"How dare you?!" she screeched. "He did, too, give me this rose." She waved it in front of his face so he could get a good look at it.

"Wha…?" He started at the rose that was in front of him. _That **does** look like mine…But it can't be; I gave that to Sailor Moon…_

"And he even said, and I quote: 'you'll never have anything to worry about while I'm here.' What do you think of that, huh?!"

Serena never did get her answer as Darien then proceeded to fall out of his stool flat on his behind.

"Dare, buddy, you okay?" asked a concerned Andrew as he leaned down from the counter to make sure his friend hadn't been injured but all he found was Darien completely bewildered.


	3. Continuity

"Yes, I can!" pleaded the young blonde.

"No, you can't!" protested a diligent raven-haired man sitting across from her.

"Yes, I can!" She argued, leaning back, folding her slender arms, and slightly huffing.

"No, you can't!" he argued back, performing the same actions, but in a mocking gesture.

"Oh, for the love of Selene, stop acting like a couple of five year olds!" screeched an irritated Andrew.

"But—" Serena and Darien said collectively, both turning to their friend.

"No 'buts'! Figure a way to resolve your conundrum, and I mean resolve it _quietly_!" their friend warned with a look that clearly said 'or else'.

The owner grabbed a broom and went outside to get some cleaning down, paying them no more thought, knowing that his little threat placated them, at least for the moment.

"Darien…?" Serena softly began, turning to the man sitting in front of her.

"What?" he replied just as softly.

"What's a conundrum?" She asked, looking at her hands that were on the table now so as not to let him see her embarrassed face. Vocabulary was never one of her strong suits.

He sighed as he looked at her. "It's a problem, 'Dango."

Her head shot up as she stared at him with a surprised look in her eyes.

"We…have a problem?" She asked slowly.

He looked at her with a bemused look on her face that spoke of equal surprise. "Well, 'Drew sure seems to think so." Serena's face lit up in a small smile. "Why? You don't?"

"Truthfully?" she asked lowering her voice and looking straight into his eyes. She continued as he nodded his head. She leaned in so her face was closer to his. "I like our fights."

"Oh?" inquired gently Darien, leaning in as well. Their heads were mere centimeters from each other.

She giggled as she nodded her head. "Yes. I like them a lot."

He replied with a hardy chuckle.

"Is that odd?" She questioned with a vulnerable look in her eyes.

He leaned in farther so their noses were now touching.

"If it is," he said, "We're both odd."

"Nothing wrong with that."

"Nope, nothing, as far as I'm concerned."

"So," Serena started once more with a teasing look on her face, "where were we with our 'discussion'?"

"I believe it was your turn," he replied as met her look with his own.

"Oh, how right you are," Serena complimented him as their hands met, fingers entwining as she continued their 'discussion.'

"Well?" He asked, giving her hands a slight squeeze with his own.

"Yes, I can."

And so they continued; their conversations never changed, but that was what they liked best: in a world so unstable, they held onto each other in their efforts of finding something secure that they could always rely on.


	4. What I can give you

Usagi and Naru excitedly entered the arcade, both hoping for a shake. Naru put a bounce in her step as she saw her new boyfriend, the blonde-haired owner, Motoki. They neared the counter quickly, as if hoping to catch it before it whirled away.

"Hey, Naru. Milkshake?" Motoki inquired as his eyes sparkled to look up at the joyous eyes of his new ladylove.

"Mmmhmmm," Naru sighed, nodding her head, as she giggled slightly.

"Me, too, Motoki!!!!!!" Usagi declared energetically!

Motoki showed no response, neither did Naru as they both were busy staring deeply into the other's eyes.

Usagi sighed as she realized that this would be no different from yesterday. The couple had been going out for two weeks now, and neither seemed to realize others where in the room when the two were together.

Usagi sighed and tried to find an empty seat, and feel into a vat of chagrin as she saw that the only vacancy was a seat in a two-person booth, with one seat already being occupied by the and only Chiba.

He smirked at her, as he seemed to realize that she would have to sit opposite to him or not sit at all.

She glared at the upper classman. He glared back.

The glare-fest was interrupted by a jingle that mean the arrival of another customer. Before Usagi could even see who it was, she raced to the only available seat to give her legs a rest.

"My, my, aren't you eager to sit near me, eh, Odango Atama?" the upperclassman smoothly said, giving her a sly look.

His teasing eyes held her own embarrassed ones, and her cheeks burned.

She fought back by swiftly kicking his shin, making him yelp and almost spill his coffee down his shirt.

To her irritation, he just gave her his deep chuckle in response.

She looked toward the left of the arcade, waiting catch someone get off one of the Sailor V games, while he looked to the right, watching the lovebirds share a strawberry milkshake.

Although neither would admit it, they both secretly looked at the other from the corner of their eyes.

His shirt's so clean…How'd he ever get that chocolate stain out of that white shirt? He'll never know I happened to spill it on him just to see what he looks like underneath that crazy green jacket. How could I resist? He was jacket-less, it was a white shirt, and I had a cold beverage in my hand.

She remembered how he groaned as the cold liquid was splashed down his front, glaring at her as the customers around them shrieked and pointed. How golden his chest was…how amazing his abs where.

Before she knew it, she was had turned her head slightly to get a better look at him, and gave a slight yelp when he tugged on her hand. That slight tug brought her closer to him as she leaned against the table separating them.

"I can give you that," he whispered to her. He shot a quick look toward Naru and Motoki. "And much more…"

Her startled look didn't phase him as he started deeply into her eyes as though nothing could change his mind.

"What will you have?" interrupted an enthusiastic waitress.

The two jumped in surprise, locking startled eyes at the waitress who was awaiting their orders.

As their eyes looked away from one another, their hands held on stronger, never letting go.


	5. Library Moments

Writing was brutal task for the Odango-ed blonde as she was forced to write and erase and write and erase to make sure her Kanji was perfect for Haruna-sensei.

She was in the one place no one ever thought one could find her; and one person was absolute in his notion that she didn't even know such a place existed much less where to find it.

Thus triggered the surprised look on Mamoru Chiba's face as he was sitting with his Physics book, taking notes for class, as he looked up at the sight of something shiny, silky, and the color of pure sunshine out of his preferable vision. He saw the tail of his favorite blonde nuisance as she sat down a few tables ahead of him.

He stared at her for a few minutes as she made harsh scribbles on her papers, erased said scribbles, and made them again, all the while a little bothered that she had yet to notice the college heart throb.

He just couldn't resist the temptation of paying her a visit as she was so engaged in her work to poke a stick at her or two. A stick with a harsh point, and shone so brightly in the sun that no one was able to see the entire stick had doodles and scrawls of little hearts that contained the words 'MC + UT' within them.

He picked up his bag in one hand, slipped it so gracefully onto his shoulder, and grabbed his physics book with the same hand and, while walking quietly, he was able to get towards her table. With her head being down as to concentrate on her work better, Usagi didn't seem to notice as her nemesis took the seat at her table. One would think Mamoru was pushing his luck as he got near her without her knowing, but Lady Luck seemed to be shinning on him that day as he was able to sit not just at his Odango's table, but right next to her. Seats were available in front of her, to the side of her, but the handsome Chiba decided to test his luck to the limits as he slipped into the seat, all the while unnoticed, next to working beauty.

Although he sat just inches away, Usagi seemed to be too engrossed into her work that she didn't pay any mind, much less noticed that someone had decided to sit next to her. She did, however, notice this someone as soon as he gave a quick tug to the cascading falls of her hair.

"WHH—"

Her scream stopped in mid breath as a hand, which clearly did not belong to her, was covered over her mouth.

Her head flew to see the brute that would dare pull the hair of a stranger and then lay his hands on her when her blue eyes met a darker shade of oceanic provinces that she couldn't stop gazing within.

"Library, 'Dango. Shhhhhh." His soothing voice placated the blonde as her mouth relaxed and her face lost its enraged look.

Her cheeks, however, did not seem to lose their color as she saw just how close she was to the dark haired man who ran through her thoughts a little too often.

Forgetting she could also breath through her nose, she grasped his hand with both of hers as her eyes begged for him to release her mouth.

He got her notion as he gently released his hand from her mouth, but not without running his thumb over her bottom lip before removing his hand completely.

"Can I help?" he whispered against her face with an eager look in his eyes that spoke of true affection instead of the teasing that usually filled them when he gazed upon the blonde.

Not being able to utter anything with his presence so close to her, she nodded her head, while sending a note of thanks with her eyes as she looked into the ones staring back at her with an intensity that ran a shiver up her spine.

This is how the rest of the afternoon and early evening was spent for our two favorite protagonists.


	6. Dandelions

Closing her eyes, Usagi blew. She held the dandelion firmly 'twixt her thumb and index finger and felt the seeds blow around her creating a shower of fuzzy, living messengers scattering her wish to the four corners of the Earth as she lay awaiting her desire to be granted.

She opened her eyes again, dropped the dandelion stalk with the others resting around her and grabbed yet another one as had been her routine all morning. She closed her eyes again and whispered her wish in her mind.

It was a perfect spring morning and she had gotten up extra early just to avoid the crowd of people that would visit the park on a daily basis. She wanted to be as alone as possible to feel the serene breeze blow all around her as it took every seed of the many dandelions she had blown this morning.

"'Morning, 'Dango. Didn't think you'd be up this early, much less in the park."

She knew that voice.

Oh, she knew it well.

Her cheeks flushed as her eyes remained closed. Closing them tighter now, she hoped it was just her imagination and not reality that had snuck up on her.

She heard the boyish, amused chuckling and she her blushed deepened as she lost hope that her imagination was conjuring up the voice. She cautiously opened one eye to gaze at the bronze man that crouched in front of her.

She was sitting in her knees with dozens of bare dandelion stalks surrounding her as the fluffy seeds lay dispersed all through the park. Her hands dropped in her lap, though one still clutched the unblown dandelion.

She saw the jogging suit he was wearing. Never had it occurred to her that people might take an early morning jog through the park, much less the soul she wishing for would do such.

He was balancing on his toes to get down to her level. She opened both eyes and lowered her head and gazed at her lap.

"'Mornin', Mamoru-san. You jog?" she murmured as she continued avoiding his eyes as she tried to calm her heart rate.

"Every morning," he replied cheerfully. He saw how uncomfortable she was getting and rested on his knees as she was doing in front of her. He gently lifted her chin with his right hand to raise her head. He saw the flushed cheeks and the worried look in her eyes and grew concerned. "Odango?" he questioned softly.

Usagi instantly closed both eyes and chocked on her breath as she absorbed his voice uttering her name so gently. So delicately that she felt as if he was treating her like a flower, hoping not to crush her. His flower.

Mamoru saw Usagi's cheeks flare again, dropped his hands onto her lap, and grabbed the hand still holding her unblown dandelion.

Her eyes shot open as she gazed at him staring at her hand containing the dandelion.

"I-I," she stuttered as his eyes shot to stare into her own eyes. His eyes gave her courage. She found her voice to finish. "I was blowing dandelions—making wishes," she spat out, staring into his eyes waiting for his response.

Will he ridicule her for the childish act? Mock her for believing in such things? Tease her for—

Her thoughts were cut short with his response.

"Really?" he asked delicately. She slightly nodded her head as she could do nothing more at the moment waiting him to continue. "I've never done that," he solemnly told her.

She raised her hand enclosing the dandelion that was encased with both of his hands up to their faces. He let her maneuver his hands as she gently eased her hand out of his and let him hold the dandelion within his hands.

"Here," she said tenderly, "Take mine."

The sincere look in her eyes took him by storm as she gave him a chance to make his first wish. His heart pulled within his chest as he stared at her crystal blue eyes, her crimson lips settling themselves just slightly apart, her cheeks still holding the colorful glow and her genuine spirit flowing through her body sheathing him from the things he'd never experienced…things as simple as a wish on a dandelion.

"No," he spoke tenderly, gazing into the confused look that claimed her eyes. Her shoulders fell slightly as the rejection hit her. "I don't want to take yours." Her eyes fell now, her head gently making it back to allow her to gaze at her lap once more.

Guilt hit him quickly for causing the tender soul before him to feel the pain she's experience at the moment and his spoke next words with as much passion as he could muster.

He took one hand to grasp her chin once more to bring her head back to his. He then gently took both of her smaller hands within his larger, rougher one, bringing them closer to his hand still encasing the dandelion.

"No, I want us to wish together." He finished with ardor. His soft, tender voice floated through her like a feather and had the strength of nature.

She started into his eyes as she flushed yet again, not responding to his words.

"Please?" he pleaded slightly, tugging at her hands with his own as his eyes captured her the core of her spirit, not letting go.

She glowed as she her lips curved upwards and nodded with an intense look in her eyes that almost undid him.

With hands raised between each other's lips, eyes fastened tightly letting nothing of the outside enter, lips parted the pair blew together.

Seeds scattered, dispersing around them both. Two pairs of eyes shot open and gazed into the others, as both of their wishes were granted.


	7. Loud and Quiet

"So I like cats. What's wrong with that?" Serena asked in a huff.

Darien stared ahead of him instead of looking at the person he was speaking to. Serena, however, faced him with her full body. Her folded arms were tense and she was beginning to get rather upset with him.

"Nothing. I just thought you were more of a dog person." He finished his statement by taking a gulp of his coffee. _Cats. Not dogs? Seriously?_

"What makes someone a cat person then?" She asked trying to keep her temper in check. _What, it's some secret club I'm now allowed in or something?_

He swallowed his mouthful of his drink and sighed.

She narrowed her eyes and asked, "What? You always seem to have all the answers, Mr. Know-it-all. So answer the question."

He turned slightly towards her and peaked his raised his left eyebrow. "You really wanna know, Serena?"

"Yes. Yes, I do. Spill it, jerk." _Oooh, he's gonna let me in on this top secret. Who does he think he is?!_

"You're not quiet." He waited for the eruption his statement would cause. _Here it comes._

Her eyes narrowed as she exclaimed her response. "So?! What's that gotta do with being a cat person? Do I have to be quiet like you? Or do I have to go all out and become a mute to own a cat? Only mimes can own cats in your world? Do I have to pretend to be in a box, too?" Her eyes narrowed and her shoulders grew tenser.

"It's not like that, Meatball head." He moved his coffee cup away from him and ran his hand through his hair. He turned fully towards her to give her his full attention.

"How's it like then?" _Oh, I can't wait to hear this. Jerk._

Darien placed his hands on his thighs as he carefully deliberated of how to word his thoughts. _How to say it. How to say it_. "It's like this: Dog people tend to be really happy, excited, and overall loud—which is something dogs can respond to and vice versa with their owners. Cats tend to be annoyed with that; they want quiet owners and their owners want quiet pets. Pets and people just get along better that way. It works for other relationships, too. Get it?" He looked at her and watched her reaction.

"Hmm," was all Serena said to his explanation. She kept glaring at him though. It didn't seem to be a good sign. "No."

Darien's eyebrows rose and his face showed a clearly surprised look. "No, what?"

Serena turned her body to face the booth and looked away from him. "I don't agree with your reason. I love my cat and she loves me."

Darien kept staring at her. "I never said she didn't love you or you didn't love her, just—"

"Nope. There's no 'just.'" Darien sighed turned away from her. He resumed his original position, picked up his coffee mug and drank a sip. He shoved his cup aside as he felt he no longer had an appetite for his drink

"Something I said?" He asked her. Neither of them looked at each other. They both just stared at the space in front of them.

"I'm loud, but I can like quiet things," Serena said evenly. She didn't sigh or fidget with anything, so Darien knew she was serious.

"Didn't say you can't." He replied following along.

She slightly turned her head to him. He saw the movement from the side and turned his head by instinct. He saw her eyes trying to hide pain and her lips trembling.

"I can like quiet things a lot, Darien."

His eyes never left hers as he thought about what she just said. He picked up her right hand, never wavering his eyes from hers, and lifted her hand to his face. Ignoring her confused expression and the way her breath hitched at his actions, he gently cupped her smaller hand in his larger one and laid a kiss where her hand and wrist met.

She let out a sweet sigh and her eyes took hold a tender expression.

"I can like loud things a lot, Serena," he whispered.


	8. Paper Cranes

Surrounded by paper cranes. Big ones, small ones, white ones, pink ones, every color of the rainbow ones. He even saw some made from newspapers and magazine pages. That's how he found her. All of them covering her lower body while she kept making more. From the paper stacks next to her, Darien could tell she intended to make a lot more.

He came from the arcade, which he left after waiting the entire morning for her. When lunch time hit and he had yet to see her, he went hunting. It was Serena Season as far as he was concerned.

She was sitting on ground in front of the park bench. She used the bench as a table to make the paper cranes; she seemed insistent on making hundreds.

"Hey, Meatball Head. Whatcha up to?"

Her head peaked up at him. She stopped making the paper crane she was currently folding.

"Hi."

She just kept staring at him.

He sighed, moved a few paper cranes next to her and sat down facing the bench. He grabbed a sheet of paper and started making them with her. She followed his every movement with her eyes.

"Your goal's 1000, right?" he asked as he folded the first step in making the crane.

"Uhm, yeah." She kept staring at him.

"How many have you done so far?" he asked.

"Ab-about 600." She stuttered.

"Hmm, okay." He was continued work on his crane.

He turned his head and looked at her. She was staring at him in confusion.

He nudged her side with his elbow. "I'm just here to help, Meatball Head. No big deal."

She blinked.

"What?"

"You're here."

"Yeah, in the flesh."

"You're not at your study date."

"Hmm?" she remembered him telling her and Andrew yesterday? "Yeah. My study partner was more interested in the date part rather than the study part; I wasn't." He grimaced as he said it, making a face.

"But you're still not studying."

"No, I'm not. I thought it would be more fun to find you." He peaked at her and gave her a grin then returned to work on his crane again.

"Oh…"

"Yeah. Don't sound so surprised, Meatball Head. I like spending time with you."

"But I didn't make 1000 yet."

"Yeah, you told me." He nodded his head and raised his left eyebrow at her.

"You're here."

"Yeaaah. I'm helping you make paper cranes."

She blinked.

"Are you okay, Serena?"

"I…You…My wish…"

It was his turn to blink.

"Your wish?"

She nodded her head slowly as if in a daze. "Yeah. I only did 600-something; not 1000."

There was a blush staining her cheeks now. It spread to her ears and neck and she gave a shy smile.

Darien blinked again. His eyes widened and a slight blush could be seen developing his cheeks.

Serena returned to folding her paper crane with enthusiasm. She bit her bottom lip trying to hide her grin.

Darien stared at her for a few moments until she nudged him with her elbow.

"Come one, we've still got 400 to go."

A slow smile spread across his face and he grabbed another sheet of paper.

"Yeah, 400 more."

She nodded her head gleefully as they both started folding their respective cranes.

"Could take us hours, Meatball Head." He said as he shifted closer to her until their thighs touched.


	9. The Proper Way

"No, Melvin, shouting from the roof of the school building is not a good way of showing your love."

Serena and Molly were explaining to Melvin the proper way of showing a girl he likes her. Earlier in the school day, Melvin showed his devotion to a classmate of theirs by hiring a singing clown that danced and threw confetti around the room and on top of the girl he paid the clown to sing to. The girl then screamed as the clown got near her, which is how everyone found out her fear of clowns. Needless to say, it did not go well.

"What about trading lunches?" asked Melvin, who was standing facing the two girls sitting at the counter of the arcade. Serena had yet to order the ice cream sundae she wanted and Molly was nursing a milkshake in her hands that Andrew had just brought over to them. Andrew was listening intently at the trio's conversation and offering his own suggestions to Melvin on winning a beau.

"What if she has something in her lunch that you're allergic to," Andrew broke in and he started listed what he knew Melvin avoided in his Arcade, "peanuts, strawberries—," Andrew counted off on her fingers.

Melvin sighed, dropped his head to stare at the floor, and muttered, "I get the picture." His head popped right back asked, "What about making her lunch?"

Andrew shook his head, "Nope same problem—allergies. What if you make her something she's allergic to?"

"Darn!" said Melvin. He fiddled with his glasses then crossed his arms over his body. He started listing off random suggestions that popped into his head.

"Singing telegram?"

"No," Serena said while Molly shook her head vigorously and placed her milkshake next to her on the counter.

"Dancing telegram?"

"No, Melvin," Molly opposed.

"No telegrams!" Serena protested.

"What about shoving a note in a locker?"

"Hmm, I don't know…" said Molly thinking about the plan Melvin just suggested. She picked up her milkshake and resumed drinking it.

"Seems a bit childish to me," said Serena.

"I agree," said Andrew with his chin resting in his left hand. "Go for a more direct approach; it'll work better. Though your ideas are cute. They say the more you love a girl, the crazier ways you'll go about showing your love." He chuckled as he finished his thought.

"Yup!" approved Serena as she nodded her head up and down with a smile on her face. Then she got serious again and looked at Melvin, "But we're not in grade school anymore, Melvin. You've gotta be more mature about this. No more bullying the girl and pulling on her pigtails to win her over—"

"Hey, Meatball Head," Announced Darien as he walked over to the group. "What, no detention today?" he asked as he tugged one of the meatballs on her head with his hand.

Molly spit out her mouthful of milkshake on the floor while Andrew's face fell out of his hand. Melvin just stared at Darien while fumbling with his glasses on his face.

"What?" Darien asked staring at all of them confused. He turned to Serena and asked, "Meatball head?"

Serena's eyes just bulged as her body froze.

"Guys…? Anyone care to explain?" Darien tried again to no result.

Andrew started laughing horribly, shook his head at Darien, and walked into the back room still in a fit of hilarity.


	10. Magic Eight Ball

Andrew looked up at the door as he heard another customer walk into the Crown Arcade.

"It's Darien," he murmured to himself. He looked down at the object he was holding in his hand and stared pensively.

He failed to see his best friend sit in the booth that faced him and was all too surprised to hear a cheerful, "Hey, 'Drew."

"Ahh!!" gasped the owner and object that was once residing in his hands fumbled to and fro as Andrew tried to get a grip on before it fell and broke.

"Here," said Darien as he caught the spherical shaped object. "You're playing with a Magic Eight Ball?" Darien asked with a raised eyebrow with amusement in his voice.

"Thanks, Dare." Said Andrew as he took back the ball. He stared at his friend and grinned saying, "Don't mock it. I swear it's magic."

"Mmhmm," replied a spectacle Darien as he folded his arms gave Drew a 'What have you been smoking?' look.

"No, seriously! It hasn't been wrong yet," pleaded Andrew.

"Yeah, okay," replied a non-believing Darien. "How long have you had it?" He hadn't remembered Andrew playing with any such nonsense before.

"For about an hour and a half."

Darien's only response to the statement was: *Face palm.*

"A costumer gave it to me instead of money for a milkshake."

Darien sighed and rested his elbows on the counter and leaned into Andrew. "Okay, first of all," he raised a finger as he counted off, "an hour and half is not enough time to prove the ball is _magical_," he emphasized the last word by rolling his eyes. He raised a second finger and continued, "Second of all, you're bartering for goods instead of asking your customers for money?"

Andrew gave his new Magic Eight Ball a shake and responded to the last statement Darien said first, "The kid didn't have any money on him," he shrugged. "I couldn't just turn him away." Darien nodded his head in understanding. "As for the Magic Eight Ball, I've asked it plenty of questions, and it's been 100% accurate."

"Oh?" Darien was still a skeptic.

"Yeah," confirmed Andrew. "I asked it if you were coming in at 4 like you usually do, and it said 'No.'"

"Okay…" Darien glanced at the Arcade clock to see it was currently 4:15.

"Then I asked if you were just not coming, and it said 'No.'"

Darien gave him a look that clearly said, 'Where are you going with this?'

"Well, I asked it if you were running late, and it said 'Yes.' Speaking of which, your shirt's buttoned wrong."

Darien looked down to see that he had indeed buttoned his shirt wrong in his haste to get out of the shower and race down to the Arcade to see his friend.

"Alright," Darien sighed, "I'll give you that one."

"Good." Andrew nodded his head in acceptance. "Now let's ask it more questions!!" The arcade owner was very enthusiastic with his new found fortune teller.

"Fine," Darien said. His friend looked way too happy to be turned down at the moment. "What do you wanna ask it?"

"Will Darien ever meet his true love?" Andrew asked and started to shake the ball vigorously.

"'Drew!!" Darien screamed in outrage. He tried to grasp the ball from his friend who was still shaking the ball.

Andrew leaned back to get the ball, not to mention his body, away from Darien's hands and held the answer for inspection.

"It says 'No.' Oh…" Andrew looked glum at the response.

Darien grimaced and shrugged it off with an, "Oh, well." He was rather sad at the thought, truth be told.

"Wait, no!" his friend replied with new found enthusiasm, "Has Darien already met his true love?" He shook the ball again and the answer was 'Yes.' He showed it to Darien and chanted a "Woohoo! Wait," he looked at Darien accusingly, "How come you never told me?"

"Because I haven't isolated her from the hundreds of girls I know," he said going along with the game. He might as well amuse his friend because it didn't seem like Andrew was going to let this go for a while. "You'll be the first to know when I've figured out who she is, though."

"Hmm…" Andrew looked back at the ball. "Is it someone from Darien's classes?" He shook the ball again. "It says 'No'."

"That rules out a good amount of girls I know," responded Darien.

"Is it someone older than Darien?" He shook the ball again. "It says 'No'. Well, we've ruled out cougars."

Darien just stared at him and blinked. He then ran his hands through his hair.

"Does this someone have hair like Darien's?"

Darien immediately dropped his hands from his hair. It only seemed to encourage Andrew.

"Hmm, 'No,' again. This is frustrating." Darien didn't bother responding to such a comment.

"Alright, give me that thing." Darien snatched the ball from his friend. "I'll ask it some questions, and as soon as we've found out who my true love is, we're never playing with this thing again."

Andrew huffed, folded his arms, but nodded to his friend.

"Does she like reading textbooks?"

'No.'

"Is she as tall as me?'

'No.'

"Is she serious?"

'No.'

"Okay, 'Drew, either my true love has nothing in common with me or this thing is just a toy." Darien looked up at his friend and commented sarcastically, "Three guesses to which one I think it is."

"Maybe you're just not asking the right questions." Andrew took back the ball and asked it some his own questions.

"Has she ever used a Magic Eight Ball?"

'No.'

"That's a right question?!" Darien asked his friend in outrage.

"What?" Asked Andrew innocently. He went back to asking the ball questions. "Does she come to the Crown Arcade?"

'Yes.'

"Yes!! We have a start!" Andrew enthusiastically cheered. "See, it's not broken."

"Pfft, fine."

"Do she and Darien talk to each other?"

'Yes.'

"Often?" Darien leaned into the ball in Andrew's hand and asked in interest. Andrew stared at him and gave him an 'I told you so' look. Darien smiled sheepishly and said, "In for a penny, in for a pound."

Andrew grinned and shook the ball for the answer. 'Yes.'

Andrew stared at Darien at the response and asked, "Who do you talk to often?" Darien furrowed his eyebrows and concentrated.

"Will she come to the arcade today?" Andrew asked next.

'Yes.'

"Huh." Darien replied.

"Will she be the next one to come?"

'Yes.'

Andrew and Darien immediately turned to the door to await Darien's true love's arrival.

They didn't have to wait long.

"Andrew, I wanna milkshake!!" squealed an excited Serena barging through the door.


	11. Cupcake

"They look so pretty!" Usagi exclaimed as she looked at the cupcakes her friend Makoto made as free samples for the customers at Crown Arcade. Matoki, the owner of arcade, agreed to let her try out her cooking with his customers for some extra business. She was trying out a new recipe and baked a batch of cupcakes for any welcomed taste testers.

"Thanks, Usagi-chan," replied Makoto, "but they should taste good, too. That's the important part."

Usagi nodded her head in understanding as she admired the cupcakes in the Tupperware box. They all had different types of flowers: daises, lilies, petunias, and several others. She then stared in wonder at the cupcake placed in front of Mamoru. It was coated with vanilla frosting and had a single red rose with a stem, and several leaves and thorns as its design.

"What flavor is it, Makoto-san?" Mamoru asked as he, too, stared at the beauty of his cupcake in awe. Usagi's friend Makoto definitely had a gift for making her creations look tempting.

"Chocolate," the brunette replied easily.

"I want a chocolate one, too!" Usagi pleaded.

"Oh…," Makoto looked stunned. "Um…Usa-chan, that's the last chocolate cupcake, sorry." It always hurt to turn down one of her friends, but Makoto didn't have a choice in this matter. Mamoru came in before Usagi and pegged the cupcake with the rose as the one he wanted. It also happened to be the last chocolate cupcake in the batch.

"Oompf!" muttered a crestfallen Usagi. She kept looking at the cupcake in front of Mamoru in longing.

The raven haired man sighed as he looked at the expression on Usagi's face. They may not always be civil with each other but Mamoru certainly had a sweet spot for the young girl.

"Want half, 'Dango?" Mamoru asked staring at her. Usagi perked her head up to stare at him in surprise.

"R-Really?" She stuttered as she wondered if the man next to her was serious in wanting to share his chocolate dessert with her. This wasn't just some trick, right? An evil plot was already taking form in her mind.

"_Me share my chocolate with brain-less you?! Get real, Odango Otama!!! Muwahahahhaa *Scarf down cupcake in front of her face.*"_

"Sure, what not?" was all Mamoru inquired. "Seems too good of a treat to eat by myself, anyway." This was definitely not the response Usagi had pictured—far from it, actually. He wasn't teasing her at all; Mamoru was being nice to her.

"I'll get a knife to cut it in half." Motoki said and went into the back room to search for a knife.

"How do you two wanna cut it?" Asked Makoto.

"Right down the middle through the rose, I guess," suggested Usagi. "Seems only fair."

"No, no," disagreed Mamoru. "We can't cut it down the middle like that—It would ruin the rose."

"Don't do that on my account," protested Makoto to the two.

"But it's a really pretty rose, Mako-chan," Usagi pleaded.

"It is. It would be best to find a solution to preserve the beauty." Agreed Mamoru with Usagi.

"Then how do you want it cut, Mamoru?" Asked Motoki, back with a simple knife in hand.

Usagi stared at Mamoru waiting for his response.

"Well, the way I figure is that half the cupcake is the rose and the other half is the stem, leaves, and thorns. Usagi can take the rose and I'll take the leafy stuff. Sound good, Odango?" He looked at the blonde as he finished his request.

"Okay, sounds good to me," replied Usagi with a smile. The next second Motoki cut the cupcake in half and excused himself to wash the knife in the back.

"I get the pretty part," sang Usagi and stuck her tongue out at Mamoru in jest. She smiled at Mamoru and poked him in his side.

"Seems only fair, since you're the pretty one," replied Mamoru with a laugh. He gave a smile of his own and ruffled Usagi's hair with his hand.

Makoto smiled at them as she placed two plates with their respective halves of the cupcake in front of them. They thanked her and started digging in on the dessert just as Motoki returned from washing the knife.

"Makes sense to me," commented Motoki, "Usagi's the pretty rose and Mamoru's the stem with thorns that scares away all the guys that wanna ask her out so he can keep her for himself."

Mamoru and Usagi coughed at the same time, choking on their cupcakes while Makoto blushed a pretty red and covered her mouth with her hand and Motoki grinned at everyone's reaction.


	12. Worth the Storm

Thunder roared outside the arcade and the heavy rain continued to pelt the ground.

"It's really pouring out there." Andrew stared out at his costumers making sure everyone was comfortable enough from the offending storm. "I'd love to close early but I don't want to kick out everyone into that rain. Seesh, when was the last time we had a storm this bad?"

"It's definitely been a while," said Darien. He sipped his warm coffee, his glance sliding to the front doors every few seconds. He didn't have to look at the clock to know what time it was. Right about now, a certain someone would come to the Arcade, but not today. Nature would deny him his small pleasure today.

"I hope those school kids go straight home today," said Andrew.

"Yeah," said Darien. He pushed his coffee away and turned his back to the front door. "I doubt your milk shakes are good enough to withstand a rain storm." _Even for Meatball Head._

Andrew laughed at his friend's attempt to humor him. He stopped laughing at the sound of the front door opening.

Darien spun around on his stool to see a drenched blonde clutching her equally drenched school bag.

He looked up at the clock. She was ten minutes late from her usual time. Because of the rainstorm outside.

"Meatball Head!" Darien ran to her, wrapping her small body in his jacket. "Are you crazy?"

"Serena! You should've gone home," said Andrew sternly with a disapproving glance.

Her only response at to the two men was a shiver and clatter of teeth.

"You've got towels in the back, right?" ask Darien. He picked her up and started towards the back of the arcade as Andrew nodded in confirmation to the question.

"T-t-t-t-t-tow-tow-els-s-s-s?"

"Let's get you dry, Meatball Head." Darien wrapped a towel around her head, rubbing her hair dry.

"T-t-th-th-tha-nks-s-s—"

"Don't try to talk," said Darien. "Seesh, what were you thinking, Meatball Head? It's horrible outside and you still came for your milkshake?"

"M-m-milkshake?"

"What did I say about talking?" he asked with a glare. He slid the towel to her shoulders and rubbed her arms dry.

"S-sorry," she said, moving her arms to clutch his shirt in her fingers.

"Let's just get you warmed up, 'kay?"

Serena nodded her head and thought about the milkshake he mentioned.

"I don't want a milkshake," she said. She moved closer to rest her head on his warm chest. "Or anything cold."

"Fine time to decide this now." His voice didn't sound happy. He stopped rubbing her arms with the towel and just let his hands rest on her shoulders. "You run out in the rain to get your milkshake and now you don't even want it anymore."

She breathed in his scent and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I didn't come for a milkshake."

He pulled her off of him to stare into her face. His face didn't look pleased. "Fine, you didn't come for a milkshake. What'd you nearly catch pneumonia for? A brownie? Cookie? Some pie?"

She shook her head and her fingers clutched his shirt harder, bringing her just a big closer to him. A blush reddened her already pink face. Her blue eyes stared into his, holding back tears.

"You didn't come for food, did you?" She shook her head at him without breaking eye contact. He let go of her shoulders to lay his hands on her waist, bring her body closer to his own. "And not to see Andrew." It was a statement, not a question. She shook her head no just the same.

She looked at her hands still clutching his shirt. Her lips suddenly felt dry. Her toes cold from the rain her shoes. The back of her neck itchy from the wet hair. None of it mattered. She knew the risks when she ventured into the storm.

She swallowed twice before looking back into his eyes.

"I wanted to see you."


	13. Sidewalk

Everyday Usagi tripped over an unleveled part of the sidewalk. Every night she fell asleep reminding herself to avoid that unleveled part of the sidewalk. Every morning she woke up late and forgot what she told herself the night before. Everyday she ran her hardest to get to class. Everyday she tripped over that unleveled part of the sidewalk while running to class.

"Late, late, late, late," she chanted to herself while running. The people around here were a blur.

Faster and faster her legs moved, carrying her with ease towards her destination

"Can't be late, can't be late, can't be late—"

And she fell.

Flashed in her mind was the promise she made last night. She closed her eyes expecting the fall. It never came.

She felt warm hands at her sides keeping her up while her bent legs frantically tried to remember their function. Opening her eyes she met a startled pair of dark blue orbs.

"'Dango?" he asked.

"You caught me."

"Yeah," he said. "Bad sidewalk to run on, baka."

"I was late," she explained.

He picked her up and set her on her feet. Still gripping her sides, he said "I'd rather you be late than hurt."

Usagi stared up at Mamoru unable to fight the blush. She was trying to get her breathing under control. She had a feeling it was no longer from the run and instead from the raven-haired man that still held her so close.

Maybe it wasn't such a bad sidewalk.


	14. Pinwheels

"Look what I made!" said Usagi. She held up a blue and green striped pinwheel in her hand.

"It's so pretty, Usa-chan," said Naru. She didn't ask where her friend made the toy knowing full well it was in detention after yet another late arrival to her morning class. Naru was just happy to finally see Usagi in the park an hour after school had ended.

"What're you all spazzy about, Odango?" asked a familiar voice.

"Hey, Mamoru-baka," Usagi said without losing her enthusiasm. At this point, the insults the two had for each other felt more like pet names than verbal abuse. "Look, I made a pinwheel!"

"It's nice," he said. A breeze flew by and pinwheel whirled into action. The three watched it spin until a few golden strands flew towards its direction.

"Gah!" screamed Usagi, dropping the pinwheel. She grabbed at her hair, making sure none of it was tangled in the pinwheel.

"Aww," said Usagi. "I don't think I can keep it." She looked down at her toy while holding her hair at bay.

"You could always put up your hair," suggested Naru picking up the discarded toy.

"NO!" came the dual response.

Usagi and Mamoru looked at each other.

"I," said Mamoru, "just meant—you know, it's your hair style—right, your odangos make you, you know, _you._"

"Right," said Usagi with a shrug.

Naru perked her eyebrow up at the raven-haired man. Mamoru shrugged at her and folded his arms. He clenched his jaw tightly. No response was going to leave his lips.

"Naru!" exclaimed Usagi. "Do you want it? Your hair wouldn't get caught in it."

"Of course," said Naru. "You can see it whenever you come over." She held the pinwheel away from Usagi as she felt another breeze come in their direction. Glancing up at Mamoru, she asked, "Unless you want it, Chiba-san?"

"Nah," said Mamoru tugging at Usagi's hair as it flew in the wind. She looked up at him when she felt the tug. "I've got something even better that tells me when it's windy."


	15. Worth the Burn

Mamoru sat at his usual place in the Crown Arcade. Relaxing with a cup of warm coffee, he pondered on his life thus far. Could he ever get the attention of a certain blonde he coveted? Or would his life be exempt from the angelic creature in the later years? Does she even think of him in way that he might be able to solidify a permanent relationship? All this musing he was subjecting himself to was solely to avoid the one question he feared to ask: "Does she like me?"

He was well aware Usagi knew he existed—daily fights and occasional run-ins took care of that problem. Now how was he to find the solution to the question he refused to ask himself?

"Watch out!"

Mamoru was ripped from his train of thought not by the cry from behind but from the hot liquid quickly soaking his white shirt. He jumped from the counter. Although far too late to avoid getting wet, his body wanted to move away just the same.

He looked down into his cup to see a ball.

"I'm such a baka!" shouted the blonde that was previously running through his mind. Mamoru turned to look at Usagi running at him with a worried expression. "Sorry, sorry, sorry!" she chanted. She came to him and moved to grab his wet shirt.

"Nothing to worry about, folks!" said Motoki to his customers. "Just a little excitement. Get back to your games." The owner moved to the counter and offered his towel to his friend. "You okay?"

"Yeah," said Mamoru taking the towel from his friend. "Don't think it'll burn too much." As he tried to apply the towel to his chest he was met with resistance.

Usagi grabbed the towel in her fingers staring at the man's drenched shirt. The shirt that was perfectly outlining his abdomen. The abdomen that she could not take her eyes off of.

"Let go, Odango."

"Wha…?" she asked slowly. "Wow…"

"What?" he asked her. He looked down to what she was staring at and saw that the white shirt left little hidden after the coffee spill. Looking back up at the blonde, Mamoru realized what had caught the young woman's attention.

"Usagi?" Mamoru asked her.

"Uhhmm?" She finally tore her eyes away from his chest and looked at his face. The one with the smile that made her come back to the arcade day after day.

"See something you like?"


	16. Mine

"How come you don't date anymore?" asked Serena. She nursed her milkshake while staring at the man she questioned.

Darien shifted in his seat trying to find a comfortable position after the very uncomfortable question. His hands gripped his coffee mug in a firm grip.

"What's it to you?" he asked refusing to look at her.

"I don't know," she said looking at her milkshake. "I was just curious." Her mouth suddenly felt dry but she didn't think the milkshake could quench her thirst. _Maybe I shouldn't have asked…_

"I don't know," he responded quietly. _Liar. You know why._ Darien didn't want to think about why he stopped thinking of the opposite sex as a whole and instead focused all of his attention on one specific blonde.

"Don't you get asked anymore?" As much as this topic made them uncomfortable, she wanted to know. _Has he given up dating completely?_ The blonde didn't want to voice, even to herself, that she would certainly be heartbroken if she had missed her chance. That the person she may or may not have been crushing on for the better part of two years took himself off the market.

Darien shifted in his seat again. "I still get asked once in a while."

She turned to him again. "Then why don't you—"

"Why do you care?" he asked more harshly than intended. He turned to her with a glare in his eye. He wasn't sure if this was a topic he wanted to discuss with the _reason_ he didn't date anymore. But she wasn't stopping the inquisition. And it was pissing him off.

So what if he didn't want to settle for second best anymore? That not dating anyone was a much better alternative than imagining her while dating others? That he got tired of explaining why he was calling out _her_ name in his sleep to other women?

She turned her self around to face her milkshake again. She thought that she should perhaps stop her line of questioning. But then again, she might not have another chance at approaching such a topic.

Pushing her milkshake away, she shrugged her shoulders. "I've never been on a date."

"Yeah?" he asked as if he didn't know. As if he didn't listen to any and all romantic interests she mentioned. As if he hadn't listed all their faults to her until she decided they were no good for her. Because they truly weren't. He turned himself back to his now-cold coffee. He took a sip hoping it would soothe him.

"Thought you might like to go," she said not meeting his gaze. Her nonchalant way of inquiring the question in a statement was all a farce. And she knew it. She pretended to be self-assured. Like it was no big deal. Like she wasn't on the edge of her seat waiting for his response.

And he certainly took his time with his response.

Serena clutched the milkshake tightly willing herself to remember seconds were passing by, not hours. Not days. Not eternity. _What's he thinking? Am I being stupid? Should I just let it go? I should let it go._

Her spineless back got the better of her. "But you probably don't want to—"

"I want to," he interrupted. His voice sounded strangled as if the speaker wasn't sure it should be let out in uncharted territories. His coffee cup was grasped firmly in his large hands as he faced forward.

"Okay." Serena's mind was blank. No thoughts buzzed as her brain tried to absorb what just happened.

"Why me?" he asked. He did have a right to ask. Picking up his coffee cup, he went for another mouthful in hopes of putting the drink out of its misery.

She shrugged her shoulders again. What answer should she give—the truthful one or the semi-truthful one?

"You looked like you had fun on your dates and I want a fun date." _Coward. Yeller-bellied-coward._

Darien throat stifled, not accepting the cold coffee he was trying to finish. _Yeah, right, it's the coffee I can't swallow_…

He looked straight ahead wondering what to do. _A date was a date, right?_ At one point, it may have been. He wasn't sure anymore. After two years of getting addicted to the girl, he wasn't sure he could walk away unscathed from a _fun_ date she thought he could promise her. He wasn't sure if he could settle for second best ever again after meeting her.

The pitiful coffee cup laid in front of him. He looked deep in the dark liquid thinking it might have the answer.

He shrugged his shoulders. Surely he could last just one date with her—one _fun_ date with her—and then return home to lick his wounds. He could hold onto that memory for lonely nights. As he tried to get over her. Again.

But he couldn't help wondering…

"Is that the only reason?" he asked staring at her from the corner of his eyes.

She peeked at him and saw him staring at her. Her hands strangled the milkshake as her mind played his question on an repeating track. She looked away trying not to let him see how he effected her. It wasn't a big deal. It shouldn't be a big deal. Her body just refused to listen.

"Does it matter?" _Coward. Big coward. Big spineless coward._

"You tell me," he replied. He was no longer looking at her. It hurt to look at her. It shouldn't hurt. He's looked at her hundreds—nay, thousands of times. So it shouldn't hurt. No, not really. But it hurt.

"What if there was?" she asked leisurely. Like it didn't matter. Like he wasn't the last thought before she went to sleep. Like he wasn't the first thought when she woke up. Like he didn't fill in the time between the two slots, leading to wondrous yet unattainable dreams.

"Then there's another reason," he answered with a shrug. He thought about finishing his coffee. There were probably only two or three gulps left. He pushed the cup away instead. It wasn't exactly something he could stomach right now. "Tomorrow at 6," he said emotionlessly as he turned to leave the arcade.

She stared at his vacant seat. _A fun date._ Is that what she really wanted? What she wanted was finally within her grasp. Was she going to back out now? Would she settle?

Serena ran after him. She didn't bother answering the questions her mind asked. She was scared the answers might be. It was time to stop thinking. Time to do and not worry about the results.

Catching up to him, she tugged at his shirt until he faced her.

"Yes."

He heard the admission as it left her mouth. He just wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

"Pardon?"

"I said 'yes'," she repeated. Her eyes didn't quite meet his, looking just to the left of him. But it was the coward's way out. It was time to quit playing the coward. She looked at him directly in the eye. "Yes, there is another reason."

It was time for the full truth. Serena started shaking as if something inside was breaking. She refused to believe it was her heart. She barely knew what to do with it and she certainly didn't know what to do with a broken one.

"There's another reason?" he asked. She nodded her head as she clutched her shaking arms. Her eyes watered but she refused to stop.

"There's another reason." Her lips quivered as she willed her tears to stay. "I wanted to be with you."

Her voice broke.

He clutched her to his chest.

The shirt muffled her soft cries. His warm arms wrapped around her, clutching her small body against his larger one. He buried his face in her neck, softly nudging her with his nose.

Tightening his hold around her, he whispered, "Mine."


	17. Macadamia Nuts

"Strawberry milkshakes are good, too," said Usagi to Mamoru. They were looking at the Crown Arcade's drink menu.

"But chocolate's better?" he asked slightly nudging her side with his.

Usagi's nudged him back as she smiled at him. "Of course! Chocolate's the best—"

"Gomen ne," said a voice from behind them. The pair looked to see a green-eyed girl about Mamoru's age with a red package in her hands. He frantically tried to remember her name.

Usagi turned to her with a smile. "Konichi—"

"Konichiwa, Chiba-san," interrupted the girl. She turned to Usagi for a moment and gave a slight roll with her eyes.

"Um," was all Mamoru could say as he looked from the strange new girl whose name he couldn't recollect to Usagi. "This is my—," he stared at Usagi wondering just how to introduce her, "well, this is—this is Usagi."

"Konichiwa, Usagi," said the girl reluctantly. Her green eyes narrowed slightly as she greeted the young blonde. Looking back at Mamoru, she stretched out her hands for him to take the red package. "I baked you some white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, Chiba-san." There was a twinkle in her eye as she waited for Mamoru to take the cookies.

Mamoru stared at the parcel containing the aforementioned cookies and wondered just what to say to the girl whose name he couldn't seem to recall. There was also another problem with her selection of baked treats. "I—"

"I thought you were allergic to macadamia nuts," said Usagi staring from the package to the raven haired man.

"No he's not," said the green-eyed girl curtly. Clearly Usagi was ruining a much-rehearsed moment that was suppose to end in a very specific way.

Usagi turned back to the green-eyed girl with a confused look. "But he can't them without turning red—"

"Well, I don't know who told you _that_," said the new girl with her nose upturned to the blonde, "but I'm sure he'll love my cookies."

"Thank you for the cookies, but I really am allergic to them," he replied. He stared at the package and then back at the girl holding the package. "But it's very sweet of you to bake—"

"But you can't be!" interrupted the new girl. She shook her head 'no' as if refusing to believe such a thing. "Suzu said that Keiko said that Manami said that you told Hinata these are your favorites."

Stifling her laughter, Usagi counted off on her fingers, "Suzu, Manami—" Mamoru grabbed her fingers to make her stop and disregarded the amused laughter she was failing to keep inside.

Mamoru gawked at the girl wondering if he was suppose to follow that train of thought. "I don't even know who those people are—"

"Well of course you don't," said the girl as she flipped her hand through her hair. "Hinata overheard you talking about them being the best, and, well," she motioned to the red parcel to finish her statement.

He stared back at the parcel. "But I really—"

"Don't lie about it, Chiba-san," said the girl sharply. "Hinata said that you said that they were the sweetest and about eating them every weekend with a chocolate milkshake."

"Wait, what? Chocolate milkshake?" asked Usagi. She stared from the package to Mamoru.

"Oooh," said Mamoru as it dawned on him just what that Hinata girl must've overheard. "Now I remember," he said with a smile. "I wasn't talking about me; I was talking about Usagi," he pointed with his head indicating the blonde. "She eats one every Saturday."

"You were talking about _her_?" pointed the green-eyed girl at the blonde in disillusionment. "But why would you—"

"You talk about me?" asked Usagi.

"Of course," said Mamoru with a shrug as if her question wasn't something that needed to be asked. "I talk about all the people that are important to me." His cheeks slightly colored at the admission but he hoped it wasn't noticeable.

"Hmm," said Usagi considering his words. She turned back around to face her menu they were gazing at.

"What?" he asked leaning in closer to her. He softly bumped his side with hers.

"Nothing, I just…" She moved to bump him back but never withdrew her side from his. Her cheeks and the tips of her ears turned pink in a way that he found quite appealing. "I like being important to you." She turned to look at him and found him already looking at her.

There was a shriek and the arcade door was slammed. They didn't hear a thing.


	18. Mistletoe

Thank you, CharmedSerenity3, for giving me this idea! If anyone has any other ideas for one-shots, I'd love to hear them, please!

* * *

"What's that, Motoki-san?" asked Usagi as she looked up at the ceiling. In the middle of the arcade hung a green foliage with a little red bowtie on it. "Did you get a new pet?"

"Oh, that?" he asked looking up from doing a crossword puzzle. "It's a mistletoe."

"Where's its foot?"

"It doesn't have one," he said while furiously erasing something on the puzzle.

"Then how does it have toes?" she asked frowning at Motoki. He must be lying to me she thought.

"What?" Motoki asked. He groaned and chucked the newspaper away from him. "Unless 13-down is PRSPSS, I think I'm done with it," he grumbled. "Anyway, that thing is called a mistletoe. It's holiday tradition to hang one up during Christmas."

"Oh," she said nodding her head at Motoki's words. "But why do you have one now? It's not Christmas."

Motoki leaned in closer as if he was about to share a secret. "See, it's my new ploy to get more customers."

Usagi leaned in closer, too. The little green thing had caught her attention now. "Mistletoes have magical powers?" she asked. "They make people want more milkshakes?"

Motoki laughed at her and shook his head. "No, no! When two people stand under the mistletoe, I'm going to take a picture of them and put it up on my new Mistletoe Wall." He pointed at the blank wall to the right.

"Oooh," squealed Usagi. "So their picture will be in the arcade?"

"Yup!" said a smiling Motoki. "Both people's pictures will be since it'll be a group shot. When word gets out, I'm hoping it'll attract more people to visit the arcade." He reached into his apron pocket to take out a red digital camera. "I'm going to use this to take the pictures."

"I want my picture taken under the mistletoe!" exclaimed Usagi with a giant smile.

Motoki choked on air. "Um, I don't know about that, Usa—"

"But I want to be on the arcade wall!"

The arcade owner shook his head no and spluttered out, "But I don't think you want a mistletoe picture—"

"No, I do! I really do!" Usagi whipped her head around the arcade for anyone she knew to take the picture with her. "It has to be with two people, right?"

"Yes, exactly!" cried Motoki. "I don't think you want this other person to—"

Bells rang announcing someone entering the arcade.

"Mamoru-baka!" shouted Usagi as she sprang out of her chair. She ran to him as Motoki reached out to stop her.

"Usagi, come back!" he yelped

"Perfect timing!" Usagi said as she reached Mamoru. She dragged him by his sweater to the center of the arcade. "You're so going to thank me for this!" she said with big smile.

"I'm going to thank you for stretching out my favorite sweater?" he asked with an amused expression.

"It looks better this way," she said sticking out her tongue at him.

"That so?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. He allowed her to situate them under the mistletoe.

"Usagi, seriously, you really don't want to do this!" cried Motoki waving his free hand while the other one still held the camera.

"Yes, I do!" she screamed back at him as she waved. "Get the camera ready!"

"Camera?" asked Mamoru as he looked from Motoki's hand to Usagi.

"Yeah. Motoki's going to put our picture on arcade wall. We just have to stand under the mistletoe."

"Mistletoe?" he asked as the blonde pointed above their heads. "You want to stand under the mistletoe with me, Odango?" he asked looking back at her face.

"Sure, why wouldn't I?" she asked. "Motoki said he'd take our picture if we do."

"That so?" he asked as his hands slid up her waist. He brought her closer to him and leaned in. Usagi's hands grasped the sweater again so she could catch her balance. She could feel Mamoru's heartbeat against her right hand. Her cheeks pinked as he brought his head closer to hers. "I've waited so long for this."

"Wha-what're you doing?" she stammered.

"Ready?" he whispered to her. His head dipped lower. "Go ahead, 'Toki," he yelled to his friend without breaking eye contact with her.

"Wait, Mamo—"

She felt the pressure to her lips. It was no slight touch. Full contact with his own lips before he eased up and she felt a slight bite to her bottom lip. She gasped and reached higher, bringing her lips closer to his own. She tugged harder at his shirt at the sharp sensation and then sighed when it was replaced with wet licks from his tongue. They soothed the bite and she couldn't help the hot stirrings that traveled throughout her body.

"Mamo," she murmured against his lips. Her hands crawled up his sweater to tangle themselves in his dark hair.

"Hmm?" he hummed as he nibbled more of her bottom lip. She smiled and reached out to tug on his upper lip this time. He let out a soft groan.

"I think I like mistletoes."


	19. Afternoon Ritual

Anyone have any ideas for one-shots? I'd love any help thinking of what to write, please! I'm seriously 'Stumble!-ing' to get ideas, people. ;_;

I hope you like it!

* * *

Usagi entered the arcade and noticed something. Rather, she noticed something was missing. Rather, she noticed some_one_ was missing.

She sat down at her usual seat at the counter and ordered her usual after school snack: a chocolate milkshake and a large double-chocolate-chip cookie. She looked at the clock and then at the door.

And then she waited.

She had grown accustomed to ordering a large cookie even though she couldn't finish it because her raven haired friend-but-not-quite-a-friend would always eat it with her. He sneaked a few crumbles when she ordered her normal-sized cookie, and from then on, she always ordered the large for the both of them. He would dip his pieces in his afternoon coffee and she would wash her pieces down with her afternoon milkshake. And that's just how it was.

While it was unusual for him to not be at the arcade yet, she tried to not let it bother her. Usagi broke off several pieces and ate them thinking of how hers and Mamoru's hands would touch sometimes as they both reached for pieces of the dessert. She looked at the clock again and looked back at the dessert wondering if today was the day she'd have to finish it alone. Perhaps this afternoon ritual was only important to her and he merely brushed it off as just another oddity of theirs.

She glanced back at the clock. It was well past the time for their snack and milkshake confirmed this. She picked up the drink and found it much warmer compared to the cold drink she originally bought.

Usagi glanced as the half-eaten pastry and wondered if she should just get on with it and finish the darn thing.

She sighed and reached for more of her dessert. A larger hand contacted with hers picked up both her piece and her hand.

"Sorry I'm late," said the voice and she looked up to see Mamoru flushed and slightly out of breath. "Hands off, Odango! You've already eaten half," he complained. He ordered his coffee and sat down next to her.

She let go of the dessert and broke off another piece for him. "I thought you weren't coming." She handed the broken piece to him and their hands touched again.

His hand lingered on hers as he chewed. Swallowing, he said, "Yeah, sorry. My paper took longer than expected. I ran here after I was done." She expected him to dip the piece in his coffee like normal. Instead, he brought her hand up to feed him the morsel. "Wouldn't miss this for the world." He smiled at her as he nipped her finger.


	20. ACHHHOOOO!

ACHHHOOOO!

Mamoru sniffled as he threw away another used tissue. He seemed to be collecting them around his bed since last night. Tugging the dark blue covers closer for more warmth, he brought his empty box of tissues closer. He wondered if this was his last box or next-to-last. Either way he wasn't sure how he was going to get another box when he could barely get himself out of bed. He'd reluctantly gotten up to eat a bowl of soup Motoki had dropped off earlier in the morning and was now staying in bed waiting for the cold to run its course. Or kill him. Whichever caused the aches to go away faster.

_Ding!_

The raven haired man hoped he imagined the door bell. Getting up and walking to answer the door wasn't high on the list of things he wanted to be doing right now.

Motoki was the only other person that had his own key to the apartment and he would just let himself in—everyone else could just leave him be till he was better.

_Ding! Ding!_

"I could just be hallucinating," he mumbled hopefully to himself.

"Baka-san! Are you in there?"

He knew that voice. And hallucinating her voice wasn't something he wouldn't put past his mind. Just why, oh why, pick _this_ as the time to hallucinate her? Wouldn't it be much more profitable to have delusions of her when he could actually enjoy them?

His body's response?

ACHHHOOOO!

"Great. Let me sneeze to death while I hallucinate about Odango." Mamoru groaned as he tried to get himself out of bed.

_Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!_

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he grumbled out loud as he got to his feet. Using the walls to hold his balance, he made his way through his apartment. He noticed his closet. "Darn. No more tissues left." He groaned at this and walked to the door and looked through the eye hole.

And there she stood. Blonde hair and a big smile. As if she was happy to wait at his door. This could very well be a hallucination, he thought.

He ran his hand through his hair hoping to straighten it out and then asked himself what he would do about his puffy eyes, pale skin, and red nose. Dropping his hand from his hair with a sigh, he opened his door.

"Hi," he said in a scratchy voice. His throat couldn't even form the simple word properly.

"You really are sick," she said looking him up and down.

"Yeah," he said nodding his head. He tried once again to manage his hair, useless as the effort may seem.

"I always thought you were perfect," she whispered.

"What?" He must've misheard her.

"Um," she looked frazzled as she stared back at him. Her cheeks pinked. "I mean here, I got you some—"

ACHHHOOOO!

Mamoru felt something soft cover his nose after almost sneezing on his guest.

"—tissues," Usagi finished. She giggled as she wiped his nose.

"Thanks." He smiled at her and affectionately tugged on one of her hair-odangos.

She leaned into his hand and looked down. And remembered her package.

"Here," she said looking back at him. She handed over a bag filled with boxes. Tissue boxes. "Motoki-onii-san said he already brought you soup." She shrugged. "Maybe you wanted a bear or balloons or something—"

"No, this is better," he said, "I just finished my last box, actually."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "tissues are definitely better."

He reached over to get the bag and stumbled losing his balance.

"Here," Usagi said holding him up. "Lets get you back into bed," she murmured.

Together they hiked back to his warm bed. She helped him in and wrapped the blue blanket around him. She handed him the bag so the tissues were within arms reach.

Mamoru thanked her for everything. "I'll see you when you're better," she said before she left.

He leaned back in his bed and thought of all the peace and quiet she must be experiencing without him tormenting her at the arcade. Never the less, she was kind enough to help him when he'd fallen ill. And that was one of the many reasons he had fallen for her. He sighed deeply thinking how ridiculous it sounded for her to feel anything like that about him.

ACHHHOOOO!

Groaning, he reached for her bag of tissues boxes. Emptying the contents, something other than boxes caught his eye. An envelope. With a card inside. A picture of a bear holding balloons on the cover with the words, "Get Well Soon," in that Hallmark lettering. He smiled and opened the card to read it. Expecting just a simple, "From, Usagi," he was pleasantly shocked at the contents. He fell back on his pillow re-reading again and again what she had written.

There, scribbled in her handwriting were the words, "I miss you when you're not here."

Maybe the idea wasn't all that ridiculous after all.

ACHHHOOOO!

He reached for a tissue with a bit more enthusiasm this time.


	21. Interupting Something

"Ew, ew, sticky!" cried Serena as tried to scrub the chocolate syrup out of her hair.

"No, you're making it worse!" said Darien as he reached for her hands.

After a toddler's unfortunate spill of his ice cream sundae, Serena found the ends of her hair covered in ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup. Darien had kindly escorted her to arcade's backroom to wash the dessert out of her hair.

"Are we going to use soap?" she asked as her hands went for the antibacterial soap on the counter.

"Nah, leave it," Darien said as he gathered up the part coated in sticky dessert in his hands. "We'll just wash it out with water now and you can shampoo it when you get home."

Serena nodded her head as he brought them both closer to the sink. Getting behind her, he nestled her body between his arms and leaned forward to turn on the faucet.

The screech of the water was the only thing Serena heard as she watched his hands scrub the ice cream sundae out of her hair. She tried to ignore the fact that her back pressed up against his warm chest. And how his knees bumped her thighs every time he shifted. And how his cheek was right next to her own so she could hear his every intake of breath.

"I think it's almost out," he murmured to her and she looked down at his hands in the sink. They were encased in her blonde hair as if a part of her wanted to meld with him.

"Hmmm," she said as she looked at him in the mirror. Her eyes caught his black hair mixing with her own blonde strands. They were so different but nonetheless seemed to be drawn together. His eyes found hers.

Caught looking.

He didn't seem mad. Didn't laugh at her. Didn't ask what she was doing. He just leaned in closer.

"Hi," she said. As if she just noticed him.

"Hi," he replied. As if he was waiting for her to notice.

Her fingers crawled their way to meet his. The ones still entangled in her long hair. She felt liked she was entangled in something, too. And she didn't mind it.

She watched his fingers make room for her own. They held her smaller ones gently but firmly. His thumbs rubbed the inside of her palms. Her eyes shot back up to the mirror and got lost in his own again. Her rubbed his cheek against her own and moved, if possible, even closer. She leaned back against him.

"Guys, ready for the towels?"

Darien jumped back. Serena ran to the counter. They looked at the door entrance to see Andrew holding a stack of towels. They didn't even hear the door open.

He looked at the two of them curiously.

"Am I interrupting something?"


	22. Name Tags

"What're you wearing, Odango?" Mamoru asked as he sat down at his usual seat. He wasn't expecting to see the blonde wearing a pink apron today, much less having the stability to hold a tray filled with drinks and pastries.

"Motoki-onii-san has a lot of inventory today so I'm helping out!" she said proudly.

"Huh," said Mamoru as he studied the apron-clad girl in front of him. "You look—"

"Miss?" someone in the back hollered.

"Oh," Usagi said as she turned to look at the guy whose drink she held on her tray. She looked back at Mamoru.

"Go," he said as he nudged her in the customer's direction. "We'll talk later." She turned back around but not before she saw the smile on his face.

Mamoru saw her cheerfully apologize to the customer for the delay and hand him his drink and brownie. She moved on over to the adjacent table and gave their orders off her tray as well.

Mamoru hollered for Motoki and had a talk with his friend and the arcade owner. As Usagi walked back to the counter with an empty tray and more orders, she found the raven-haired man standing behind the arcade counter.

"I asked Motoki if he needed more help and he asked me to hand out the orders as you get them in. We'll have to work as a diner for a little bit," he explained taking the orders from her. "Two shakes, a piece of pie, two scoops of strawberry-banana ice cream…" he murmured reading the orders.

"You can read my hand writing?" she asked in surprise.

"Took years of hard learning to read that chicken scratch you call kanji," he said with an amused smile.

Her face turned red and she stuck her tongue out at him. She looked down in embarrassment.

Darien leaned down and squeezed one of the meatballs on her head. "Hey, I'm just kidding," he said. "You write fine, Odango."

She looked up at him with a small smile. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." He let his hand stay in her hair, his fingers lightly rubbed her scalp. She leaned in to the touch.

"Miss?" someone in the back yelled.

Mamoru dropped his hand as Usagi looked back and politely screamed that she was coming.

"Wait," he said as he held the blonde's hand. He fumbled under the counter and pulled out a blank name tag. "How about the customers stop calling you 'Miss'?" he asked as he wrote on the name tag.

"No, no," Usagi pleaded. She shook her head no as he continued writing. "I don't want everyone to call me Odango."

He showed her the name tag: _Miss Usagi._

Mamoru leaned in to pin it to her apron. She looked at him as he brought his face closer to hers. He caught her blue eyes and whispered, "Only I get to call you Odango."


	23. Snow

"The snow's really falling out there," Motoki commented as he helped himself to a warm drink.

"Thankfully!" Usagi cheered as she sipped her fourth cup of hot cocoa. She and Mamoru showed up when the arcade opened that morning both relieved to not have any classes that day. "Snow days are the best school days."

"I don't think it counts as a school day anymore, Odango," said Mamoru as he blew into his bit-too-warm coffee. Motoki had just finished brewing this batch.

"It does if we still get homework," she whined as she thought of the workload left at home.

"Ah, well," Motoki replied with a laugh, "at least you get to have some fun in the snow before the extra homework."

"With cocoa!" cheered the blonde cradling her cup in her hands.

Motoki excused himself to help a customer. And possibly make more cups of cocoa and coffee for Mamoru and Usagi.

"Speaking of fun in the snow," Mamoru said turning to her, "why aren't you out there?"

"Who says I have to be?" she asked turning to face him.

"I was just wondering why you're not out building a snowman or making snow angels while you still can."

She looked out at the white streets filled with people playing in the snow. They seemed to be enjoying themselves.

"I'll get out there."

"What's wrong with now?" he asked. "You've been here all morning without making a single snowball. I thought you'd be happy surrounded by all that school-canceling goodness."

"Maybe I'm just happy being where I am," she said turning back around to face her cocoa.

"Nothing new or special about sitting here," he said with a shrug. He turned back to his coffee. "We always sit here."

"Maybe nothing new," she said glancing at him, "but I think it's something special."

He looked at her, his cheeks turning slightly pink. "Not new but definitely special," he agreed.

They gently clinked their cups together and tucked in to spend another few not-new, but definitely-special hours together.


	24. Moon Dwellers

Usagi sat on the park bench with a book on her lap. She stared at the picture of the moon in the book and then looked out to gaze at the rich, green grass before her. Flowers bloomed in a multitude of colors—red, orange, yellow, violet. So many different hues caught her vision. And yet she looked back at the picture of the silver moon.

"Konichiwa, Odango." Usagi turned her head to see Mamoru standing next to the bench. He sat down next to her and peeked at her book. "What're you doing?"

"Have you ever wanted to live on the moon?"

It was such a weird question but something she couldn't stop thinking about since she saw the book in the school library. The idea that one could live on the surface of the moon intrigued her.

Mamoru stared at her as if trying to figure out the enigma that was her instead of wondering how to answer the question. He looked at the park they were in—trees filled to the brim with bright green leaves and pink flowers. Flowers stretching high and exploding in an disarray of color. He smelled the sweet fragrances of honey suckles, violets, and, most importantly, roses. He'd always loved roses.

Usagi's eyes followed him as he went over to a red rose bush and picked a flower, being careful not to get bitten by thorns. He smelled the scent and thought of the one person that it reminded him of. Only one person could ever remind him of blooming red roses.

Twirling the flower twixt his fingers, he wandered back to the bench until he was standing in front of her.

"Can't say I've ever thought about it," he said truthfully.

"Hmm," she said as she looked back at the moon in the book. "I guess most people don't dream of living on the moon."

"It's rather dry up there—nothing living or growing."

"But what if it wasn't?" She looked at him getting excited. "What if it was filled with oceans and castles? With people and life and flowers? Would you live there then?"

"How about roses?" he asked leaning towards her.

She looked at the rose in his hands and back up to his eyes. "We could put roses on the moon," she whispered. "Gardens full of just roses."

"Gardens full?" he whispered back to her.

She nodded her head quickly. He could have his roses there. For some reasons, she wanted—no, needed his answer.

"Just roses or can I ask for something else, too?"

"Anything you want," she whispered. "Whatever else do you want."

"Would you be there? On the moon." He asked looking into her eyes. "Would you live on the moon with me?"

"Yeah," she said as she grasped the book to her chest. She couldn't pull her eyes away from him. "Yeah, I'd be there, too."

"Then sure," he said as he put the red rose in one of her odangos. His hand followed her hair to gently rest on her neck. "I'd love to live on the moon."


	25. Red Gummy Bears

"The red ones are my favorite," Usagi proclaimed as she bit into another red gummy bear.

"Yeah," said Mamoru, "but that doesn't mean you can eat them all!" He said as he swiped a red bear out of her hand.

"Hey!" she protested and he dropped the red bear into her mouth as she opened her mouth to retaliate. She pulled at his shirt, bringing him closer. "Green?" she asked as she pulled a green one out of the bowl.

"Sure," said Mamoru as she dropped the bear into his hand.

The pair were sharing a large bowl filled with gummy bears that Motoki had provided for them. They had been devouring the treats for a half hour and weren't even finished with half the contents of the bowl.

The blonde owner's eyes went from the bowl to the clock to the door. And repeated this pattern every few seconds.

_Come on, come on, come on!_ Thought Motoki. _I only bought one bag of gummy bears, and they can't eat them all day. And you're already late!_

Looking at the pair before him, he thought back to what happened yesterday. Jogging through the park, he ran into Cupid. Thinking the man dressed in a red suit was completely insane, Motoki proceeded to walk far away from the man. Far, far away.

But the man caught up to him and explained to the blonde that while he is not the actual God of Desire, he had the knack of getting people together.

On dates.

Which is exactly what Motoki was hoping for with his two friends. The same friends that sat before him in his arcade sharing a bowl of gummy bears. He bought the treats hoping to keep them occupied at the arcade until Cupid could work his magic.

Motoki looked back at the bowl to see it was still only about half empty. No need to worry about running out of them yet. He looked at the clock to see that Cupid was late. And getting later by the minute. He looked at the door hoping to catch the man entering the arcade.

And there he was!

He was walking up the arcade door when Motoki ran from the counter—"Keep eating the gummy bears!" he yelled at the pair as he rushed out the door to meet the man in red.

"Hi," said Cupid out of breath. He was clutching his chest and looked rather flushed.

"You're late!" said Motoki a little annoyed. _I almost missed my chance of getting them together!_

"Sorry, sorry," said the man in red. He stood up straight and tried to look more professional while still heaving. "My last appointment ran longer than expected, but let's get started."

"Good," said Motoki as he faced the arcade door. Usagi and Mamoru were in clear view through the glass door. "There they are," he said pointing at the raven haired man sitting next to the blonde.

"There who are?" Cupid asked as he leaned in closer to where Motoki pointed.

"The two I want you to get together—work your magic and make them a couple."

"What? Those two?" asked Cupid pointing with Motoki. "The black haired guy and the blonde girl?"

"Yeah, those two."

"What?" Cupid asked turning to Motoki. He looked confused. "I can't do that!"

"Why not?" asked the blonde haired man. "You said you could help!"

"Look, buddy," said Cupid getting annoyed at Motoki, "I don't know if this is your idea of a joke—"

"A joke?" Motoki gripped the man his collar and shook him. "I have seen those two scream and bicker at each other for three years! They arrive at the same time and keep sitting in those same seats—right next to each other—and neither of them would come at a time the other isn't there, or heaven forbid sit _apart_ from each other."

"But—"

"No buts!" He shook the man harder.

"Can't…breath…"

"They can't seem to get it, but they're prefect for each other. You hear me? _Perfect!_"

"I know!" Cupid pulled away from Motoki and coughed. He gripped his neck and turned to look at the couple.

"Now make them date!" cried Motoki.

Cupid turned back to Motoki and just gave a smile. "I can't make two people date when they're already dating."

"What?" Motoki looked very confused.

Cupid pointed to the couple.

Mamoru pulled Usagi close, trying to wrestle a gummy bear out of her hands as she buried her laughs in his neck.

"They do that all the time," said Motoki softly.

"Yeah? For three years?"

"Yeah, just about."

"Maybe they don't know it," said Cupid straightening the collar of his suit, "And maybe they haven't put a title to their relationship," he squeezed Motoki's shoulder, "but they're definitely dating."


	26. Happiness Machine

"Broken?" screamed Usagi. She looked at Motoki in disbelief. "What do you mean broken? It worked fine yesterday!"

"Broken?" asked Mamoru. He had just entered the arcade and was bombarded with the girl's shrieks. "Odango, we've been over this. Your brain's not broken, just a little bruised."

"Mmmf!" grunted Usagi. She turned to face the dark haired man and stuck her tongue out at him. "Not today, baka!"

Mamoru ruffled her hair as he turned to Motoki. "What's broken?"

"The milkshake machine, I'm afraid. Won't be fixed till tomorrow." Motoki looked at the crestfallen girl and offered her a small smile.

"I really wanted one," she murmured, her eyes filling with tears.

"Aww, it's just for one day," Mamoru said, reassuring her. "You can get it tomorrow."

"But that's a whole day away!"

"It's just one day away, Odango. Surely you can last that long."

"Can you last that long without coffee, Baka?" She folded her arms and started at him in challenge. "Just one day without coffee?"

"Now, now," he said, backing away from her slightly, "that's different—"

"Don't see that much of a difference" interrupted Motoki. "She needs her milkshake fix," he pointed to Usagi, "and you," he moved his finger to the raven haired man that was quickly regretting his words, "need your caffeine fix. Think you could last a day?"

"I—I—one whole day?" He spit out the words as if they stung him.

"It's just one day away, Mamoru," mocked Motoki while pouring a cup of coffee. "Surely you can last that long," he finished placing the cup in front of the raven haired man. "Drink up," said Motoki with a roll of his eyes.

Mamoru looked at the beverage in front of him, smelling the rich aroma that floated into the air. He then looked down at the sniffling blonde.

"I'll wait," he told Motoki, ruffling Usagi's hair again. "We'll both drink tomorrow."

Motoki took away the cup and gave Mamoru a nod in approval.

"But the coffee machine isn't broken!" said Usagi as she turned to face him.

"That's true," Mamoru said. He pulled at her hair till she looked him eye-to-eye. "But I can't drink coffee when my happiness machine is broken."


	27. Chocolate Syrup

"What's so bad about it?" Usagi asked.

"What's so good about it?" Mamoru retaliated. He lifted his coffee cup to take a hearty sip.

"But it's sweet and yummy!" she announced. Usagi lifted a spoonful of her vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup on top. She waved the spoonful at him before taking it to her mouth. "Anmpf it melfs en yourf mouhf!"

Mamoru rolled his eyes at her. "That's the ice cream melting in your mouth, Odango, not the chocolate syrup."

Usagi swallowed her mouthful. The brown syrup coated the corners of her mouth.

"But what's wrong with chocolate syrup?"

"Odango," he said, "I'm not saying anything's wrong with it; I just don't like it on top of my ice cream."

"But you still like it?"

"Sure, in my milk or whatever."

Usagi narrowed her eyes at the raven haired man. "I don't know if I believe you."

Mamoru turned to face her. "You seriously want proof I like the stuff?"

"Yup!" Usagi offered her spoon to him so he could take a helping of chocolate syrup.

He eyed that exact sticky substance coating the side of her lips. Before he knew it, Mamoru was licking the corners of her mouth. He blinked in realization and leaned back in his seat wondering at what point his brain decided to move toward the blonde's mouth.

The spoon fell to the floor with _clang_ as Usagi's hand shot to her mouth; a blush covered her cheeks. Mamoru's cheeks were turning red, too.

"Like you said," he said, licking his lips, "sweet and yummy."


	28. Black hair

"I like brunettes," said Molly. "A funny guy with a great smile." She sighed imagining running into such a man. "And he'd like to read poetry."

"Yeah, brunettes are nice," said Andrew with a soft sigh.

Serena and Molly looked at him in surprise, both holding in giggles.

"But a girl!" cried Andrew quickly. A light blush formed on his cheeks as he hit his forehead. "Definitely a girl, please."

Serena laughed as the blonde man scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Right, a definite girl," said Serena, "but what else is your type?"

"Right as long as we all agree it's a _girl_," he said, and waited until both girls nodded their heads while rolling their eyes at him, "right, a girl that's adventurous."

"Like skydiving?" asked Serena.

"And mountain biking down Mount Fuji?" asked Molly.

"Uh," stuttered Andrew, "maybe not _that_ adventurous. I was thinking more like horse back riding." The girls pouted at his response. "And she would garden and she'd laugh at corny jokes."

"Not horribly adventurous, but I guess that works," said Molly. "What about you, Serena? What's your type of guy?"

"Me?" she asked, turning to her friend. "I don't know," she said with a shrug.

"Nuh-uh!" said Andrew. "Spill. Molly and I did!"

"Hmmm," thought Serena, leaning back in her chair to stare at the ceiling. "I don't know," she said, "but maybe someone that's always there. And he'd be smart. And say really bold things, even if they get him in trouble. Maybe tall and he'd have deep blue eyes—the kind you can get lost in."

Molly giggled and Serena turned to look at her.

"What?" she asked her friend.

"Oh, don't mind her," said Andrew. Serena turned to look at him and he seemed to be failing from holding in his own laughter. "Anything else you want in your perfect man, Serena?"

"I don't know," said the blonde. "I guess black hair would be nice."

Molly let out a shriek and she and the blonde arcade owner let out their badly contained laughter.

"What?" cried Serena. "Why're you two laughing?" She looked from one friend to another wondering what exactly she was missing.

"Hey, meatball head," said a voice from behind. Andrew and Molly saw the raven haired man and laughed harder. Serena turned to face him. "What's with those two?"

"I don't know!" she said crossing her arms. "They went crazy after I told them I liked guys with," she looked at Darien's hair, her eyes refusing to look away, "black hair…"


	29. Chocolate is Always Good

If anyone has any ideas for one-shots, I'd love for you to share them, please!

* * *

Usagi walked through the park picking the flowers along the way. She had a bouquet of daises and black-eyed Susans and was currently making her way through the Forget Me Nots when she spotted Mamoru up head. He was talking to a tall, brown haired woman.

The woman kept brushing her hand on his shoulder—and Usagi took note of how the woman was nearly as tall as Mamoru so there was no need for her to reach high as Usagi would have had to do. While the woman seemed to be enjoying the conversation what with her big smile, Usagi took note of how Mamoru was trying to inch away from the woman's hand as she kept raising it touch him.

"And the show case is only on display for a short while," said the tall woman, reaching again for Mamoru, "so if you would like to go—"

"Well, I'm not sure if I'm terribly interested in hair styles throughout the world—"

"But how different cultures influence each other is astounding," she said.

"Yes, I can understand that, but…"

Mamoru looked around hoping for some sort of savior. And he found it in blonde holding her bouquet of flowers.

"Usagi!" he screamed out to her.

The blonde turned to look at him hearing her name. He motioned for her to come closer. Curious of what he wanted, she walked up to the pair.

"What do you want—"

"Darling!" Mamoru said loudly, cutting off Usagi. He pulled her to his side. "Are these for me?" he asked looking at her flowers.

"Wha—"

"They're lovely!" he said, holding onto her hand so they both held the flowers. "Sorry, I really can't go," he said to the tall woman, "but my girlfriend and I—"

"Girlfriend?" asked the woman.

Usagi struggled in his arms. "What do you mean girlfr—"

"Yes, girlfriend. Settle down, darling," he said pulling Usagi closer. He bent down to nuzzle her neck. "Just play along, Odango," he whispered, "I'm begging you."

"I wasn't aware you were dating anyone, Chiba-san," said the tall woman. She looked down at Usagi as if to ask what the raven haired man could ever see in the blonde.

"Well, he is," spoke up Usagi looking up at the tall woman. "And we're madly in love and really happy." Usagi lifted her chin slightly while staring at the woman. The blonde snuggled closer to Mamoru. She felt him wrap his arm around her middle.

"Oh, so happy!" exclaimed Mamoru. He gently scratched the side of Usagi's head. She unknowingly leaned in to his touch.

"Well, I'm sure your girlfriend wouldn't mind if I stole you away for an afternoon," said the tall woman, refusing to give up. "It's only for this Thursday."

"I don't know…" said Usagi wondering what she was supposed to say. How was going to fight for her man? And when did she start thinking of Momoru as hers?

"I don't know," repeated Mamoru, "since Thursday is our anniversary. One blissful year of being together." The lie came far to easily for him. He could almost imagine living with the blonde. "We're planning on going to a chocolate factory."

"I like chocolate!" chimed in Usagi. She nuzzled further into Mamoru. She held up the flowers for him and he leaned down to catch their scent.

"Mmm," he murmured, smelling the flowers.

The tall woman give a small good bye to the pair before strutting away in a huff.

Mamoru reluctantly let go of the blonde, and Usagi turned to face him. She looked down at the flowers before looking up at him.

"So," said Mamoru, looking at blonde. His cheeks were slightly pink. "Are we on for this Thursday?"

"Wha—this Thursday?" she asked.

"The chocolate factory."

"Right," she said, fidgeting with the stems of the flowers. "You don't have to—"

"Well, you did save me out of a pretty big jam," he said.

"A pretty tall one," said Usagi remembering the woman's height.

"Yeah," he said with a laugh, "so I kind of owe you one."

"Right," she said, looking away. As much as she would've liked to go, she didn't feel right going on these terms. "It wasn't a big deal, so you don't have to—"

"Yeah, but if she catches me without you on Thursday…" he left the thought unfinished.

"Right," replied Usagi.

"And it would be nice to go," he said.

"Hmm?"

"With you, I mean," he said.

She looked up at him in surprise.

"You want to go with me?"

"Yeah," he said. "This Thursday. Chocolate factory. You and me; it would be nice"

"I like nice," she said a little dazed.

"Nice is good," he said nodding his head.

"And it's because of that psycho girl," she said a bit too quickly.

"Right," said Mamoru with a small smile. "Need to get away from the psycho girl."

"And-and because chocolate is good."

"Chocolate is always good," the raven haired man said with a nod.

"See," said the blonde, "that's what I've been trying to teach you since we met: chocolate is always good."

"Yeah?" he asked, taking her hand in his.

"Yeah."

They walked out of the park together, side by side, hand in hand.


	30. Fussing

"How about this one?" asked Usagi holding up a pink shirt with white daises on it. "Do you think he'd like this one?"

"Usagi," said Luna, "how does this have anything to do with biology homework?" The black cat was getting increasingly suspicious the blonde called for fashion advice, not for "first hand knowledge of cats terribly necessary for homework."

"Right, homework," said Usagi, "we'll get to that later." She picked up a blue turtle neck. "What do you think this one says?"

"That one," said Luna, jumping on the bed, "says it wants you to do your homework. Now."

The blonde pouted at her cat. "But this is important," she whined. "What if he hates this one and I wear it? What would I do then?"

Luna rolled her eyes.

"The pink one's nice," said Luna, giving in. "Just get started on your homework already. It'd be nice for you to not getting detention for once."

"Right," said the blonde, picking up the pink shirt she discarded and holding it up to her body in front of a mirror. "I'll get started on that soon."

Luna rolled her eyes at her and jumped off the bed. "Why do you care so much anyway? I thought you hated Chiba-san."

"Hmm?" asked Usagi, turning from side to side in the mirror. Making sure the shirt looked good at all angles. "Of course I hate him."

"Yet you're fussing this much over an outfit—wondering what he'll think of it?" Luna watched the blonde lose herself in her own little world again. The cat left the room, hearing her owner sing to herself.

_"I want you to want me…"_


	31. Sushi

It was a quiet day in the park as Serena tried to eat her lunch on an empty park bench.

"Omph!" she exclaimed under her breath. The sushi fell once again from her chop sticks. Instead of a sandwich, she opted to have sushi for lunch today, so it was the perfect time to finally learn how to use chopsticks. She was a bit embarrassed about depending on forks or her hands instead of actually learning how to use chopsticks.

She adjusted the two sticks again in her hand and moved to go for a small roll of rice, seaweed, and fish. Just as one of the chopsticks touched the bite sized roll, the other fell out of her hands.

"No!" she cried as the chop stick fell to the ground—but a hand caught it instead.

"Here, meatball head," said her savior. Serena looked up to see Darien, now holding up her chopstick and placing it on her tray of sushi.

"Thanks," she muttered while glaring at her lunch. Maybe a sandwich would've been better, she thought as her stomach growled noisily.

"Something wrong with your lunch?" he asked as he sat down across from her on the park bench. "Don't think I've ever seen you eat that slowly before."

Serena stuck her tongue at him. She wanted to throw one of her sushi rolls at him but decided that was a waste of good food, and she promised herself nothing would touch the rolls other than chopsticks today.

"I'm trying to eat my lunch," she said, picking up a chop stick in each hand and nudging one of her rolls to elevate, "but it's not working." The roll fell back on the try with a slight _flop_. Just then, her stomach grumbled again. The blonde looked down at her empty belly and wondered if she should just give in and user her fingers.

"I could teach you how to use them," he said, pointing to her chopsticks.

She looked up in anticipation, but winched her stomach growled again, this time much louder.

"Here," he said, grabbing the chopsticks out of her hands. He held them in his own hand and carefully picked up a roll. "How about I teach you later?" He moved the roll to her and she leaned in slightly to take it in her mouth.

She chewed with enthusiasm at finally getting a bite of lunch. Darien reach down to pick up another roll.

She moved closer to him as he carefully picked up another roll.

"Yeah," the blonde agreed, smiling as the dark haired man brought the roll closer to her, "food now, teach later."


	32. Train Wrecks

"Just tell her," said Andrew. "We've had this conversation far too many times as is…"

"I can't just tell her!" pleaded the dark haired man. "What if she says she hates me. Then what would I do?"

Andrew rolled his eyes at his friend.

"It might help if you were actually nice to her—"

"I can't do that," said Darien with a sigh. "I tried but the words wouldn't come out."

"I'm not saying serenade her," said Andrew, wiping the counter. "Just be normal with her—like how you are with me."

"I don't know how to do that with her. I see her and I want to say something nice but before I know it, I've already insulted her five times."

Andrew sighed for his friend. "You're just a train wreck around her?"

Darien nodded his head in defeated acceptance.

"Maybe write it down?" suggested Andrew.

"What, in a letter?" asked the dark haired man. Andrew nodded in agreement. "What would it say?" Darien asked, rolling his eyes at the suggestion. "_Dear Serena, I love you, Love Darien_?"

"You what me?" came a voice from behind.

Both men turned to looked at the blonde who stood not two feet from them.

Darien was the first to speak.

"Lay off it, Meatball head. I know more than one Serena."

Andrew looked at his dark haired friend. "No, but—"

"What makes you think I'd want you anyway?" continued Darien. "Your empty headed ditzy-ness isn't exactly appealing."

"Yeah, well, you're just a mean old jerk!" said the blonde. "I wouldn't want you to love me in a million years! Not in two million years!"

She strutted away in a huff.

"What is wrong with you?" asked Andrew as Darien turned his seat around to look at him again.

"What?" asked Darien, reaching for his coffee. "It could've gone worse."

Andrew groaned loudly and pulled his hair. "Why me?" asked the blonde man.


	33. Wet Toes

"No, no, no!" cried Usagi.

The wind blew harder and turned her umbrella inside out. She tried waving the umbrella around, hoping it'll flip back to its intended shape but no such luck. She shivered as the rain picked up and soaked her lithe body.

She was greatly regretting declining Naru's offer of getting a ride home with her mother. The blonde figured since she lived so close by, she could make it home before the storm got too bad. Looking down at her drenched uniform, she realized otherwise.

Tossing the wayward umbrella in a near by trashcan, she ran through the park—a short cut from her school to her house. She kept her head down to carefully avoid any deep puddles that would soak her foot ware even more than they already were. She couldn't stop thinking about how her toes sloshed around in her wet socks and shoes.

"Umph!" she cried, running into someone.

Her chest felt the brunt of the impact. Her head shot up to see who she ran into as her body tumbled downwards until she fell backwards.

She wiped the rain out of her eyes and looked up to see a hand offered to her.

Pulling herself up with the offered hand, Usagi looked at the figure under the umbrella.

"Baka!" she screamed over the storm. "Gomen-nasai."

"Don't worry about it," he yelled, pulling her under his umbrella. He let go of her hand and pushed her hair back, out of her eyes. "You okay?"

She nodded her head. "Y-y-yes," her teeth chattered.

He balanced his umbrella on his shoulder and used both hands to pull her towards him. Grabbing her small hands in his larger ones, he rubbed heat into them. He blew hot air onto them for extra measure.

"Thanks," she said, "but you don't have to do that," though she didn't move her hands away.

"Heading home?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, nodding her head again. The wet clumps of hair stuck to her instead of following her head's movement.

"You looked like you were drowning," he said, blowing more warm breaths onto her hands.

"My umbrella broke," she said with a pout. Her cheeks reddened as the winds picked up again.

He nodded his head in understanding.

"How much farther till your house?"

"A few more blocks," answered the blonde. "Shouldn't take more than about five minutes."

Mamoru let go of her hands. "Here," he said, handing her the clutch to his umbrella, "take this and head home."

"Wait, no!" cried the blonde. She held onto his shirt as he tried to move away. "It's yours; you'll get wet!"

He answered her with a shrug. "Just head home and change out of your wet clothes; I don't want you catching a cold."

"But," she held tighter onto his shirt as he tried retreating out from the safety of the umbrella, "you could catch a cold!"

"Maybe," he said. "I'm more worried about you." He pushed her towards her destination until she started moving and then ran off to his own apartment.

Usagi looked up at large umbrella and smiled feeling warm all over—even down to the toes that sloshed around in her wet socks and shoes.


	34. My Pleasure

"I've got it in my hand," said Andrew, talking into the phone. Serena saw him holding a dark blue binder. "Do you need it tonight or can you wait until tomorrow?"

Serena sipped the last of her milkshake and watched Andrew nod his head as he listened on the phone.

"It's no big deal," said Andrew, looking up at the clock. "I can head on over in a bit. Shower? Yeah, go ahead and I'll probably get there after you're done."

Andrew hung up the phone.

"What's going on?" asked Serena, moving aside her finished milkshake cup.

"Darien forgot his binder," said Andrew, waving the blue binder in the air for a moment. He surveyed the arcade. "It doesn't seem to busy right now," he said, though Serena wasn't sure if he was talking to her or just talking out loud. "So I think I can take this over to him now instead of waiting till closing time."

"He needs it now?" asked Serena. She knew the arcade didn't close for a few more hours, so if the dark haired man needed the binder today, he probably couldn't wait until closing time.

"Sounds like it," said Andrew. "Mind holding down the fort while I leave for a few minutes?"

"Watch over the arcade?" She blinked in surprise.

"I trust you," said Andrew with a smile. "You have the biggest sugar tooth known to man, but you're not a filch; I doubt you'd take anything bigger than the size of a cookie crumb." He was untying the strings to his apron. "The crowd's already been fed so I doubt you'll have more than one or two people asking for any orders."

Just then, the doors opened to let in a large crowd of elementary schoolers. Loud and rambunctious, they made their way to a table as their chaperones proceeded to tell them to be good before making his way towards Andrew.

"Nevermind…" said Andrew with a sigh. He readjusted his apron.

"I could do it," offered Serena, already standing up.

"Thanks," he said, lacing up the last of apron strings, "but I really can't leave a crowd that size up to you, sorry."

"No," said Serena, shaking her head. "I could take the binder to him."

"Huh?" asked the blonde man.

"To him—you know—Darien," she said, scratching the back of her head. She suddenly felt warm. "I could take the binder to him."

"That'd be great!" Andrew gave her directions to his place, writing them down and explaining how to get to his apartment.

Ten minutes later, Serena found herself standing in front of the apartment door. Her hand was poised to knock but she couldn't quite make her knuckles reach the door. She bit her lips and looked at the binder in her other hand.

"Right," she said to her self, "just knock and give him his binder. I don't even have to say anything." It didn't seem too hard as she went over it in her mind. Yet her hand still wavered in air.

Taking in a deep breath, she rapped her knuckles against the door.

"Coming!" said a voice from inside. A second later, she heard rustling and footsteps that got louder.

The door opened.

Her hand froze in the air as she was welcomed by a wet body.

Water droplets clung to a muscular chest that was brushed with a light coating of hair. She followed the chest down to a line of darker, thicker hair that vanished under a white towel that hung off of a narrow waist.

Serena's head shot up and her cheeks flamed.

She expected to be greeted by a face. Probably a face with an egotistical smile. Instead, she met another white towel.

"Sorry, about this, 'Drew," said Darien's voice from underneath the towel. He seemed to be roughly towel drying his hair, so he didn't notice who really answered the door.

Serena took this—probably one time only—opportunity to make her way back to his chest. It was expansive. And gleaned from the shower he must've just taken. She wanted to reach out her already raised hand and spread her fingers on the spot right above his heart.

"I was a bit long in the shower," he said, interrupting her thoughts. He continued to rub his hair dry.

He spoke up just in time, too, she thought as she mentally cursed her hand for reaching out without her knowledge. She pulled her fingers away from their intended destination. Her hand was close enough to his chest that her fingers could feel the heat radiating from his body. Quickly moving her hand away, she gripped his binder with both hands.

"Can't believe I left my binder," he said. He pulled the towel off his head and let it drop to his shoulders. "Glad I've got you looking out for me—" He stopped looking at the blonde standing in front of his door.

Serena swallowed twice, staring into his eyes.

"You're not Drew…" he said slowly. A slight blush began coating his cheeks, reaching his ears.

The blonde bit her lips. She shook her head. "No," she said softly. "H-he," she began, pausing to clear her throat, "Drew got held up by an expected rush." Serena looked away, staring down at the binder in her hands.

"I see…"

"I—um," Serena dared to look up at him for a second but looked back down again. "H-here," she said, extending the binder towards him. She didn't take her eyes off the floor.

"Right," he said, taking it from her. He brought it up to his chest, as if using it as a shield.

"So, I, uh…" she took a deep breath and looked up at him. Giving a small nod, she moved back slightly. "Right, all done."

Darien moved back, too, gripping the door handle. "Mission accomplished," he agreed. "Thanks for this," he said, motioning his binder.

"My, um, my pleasure," she said, licking her suddenly dry lips. "Uh…" she awkwardly pointed to exit for the building. "Right, I have to-to go there. Back to the arcade."

"Yeah," said Darien, nodding his head. "And-and I have to look at this," he said, slightly raising his binder. "Notes and-and more notes. For studying. The binder."

"Right," said the blonde, nodding her head. "So, um, bye," she said quickly, stiffly moving towards her destination.

"Bye," said the raven haired man closing the door.

He leaned his head against the door wondering just how much studying he was really going to get done tonight.


	35. His Scene

Mamoru Chiba wasn't a party person.

He didn't like hanging out for no reason than just to talk about frivolous topics and gossiping. Drinking for fun was never something he took part in, no matter how many times his classmates asked him to join.

Truthfully, he could never get into the habit of just lazily hanging out with people for the sole reason of hanging out. It bored him heavily and of the very few times he was coerced into attending a soiree, he found himself retreating into a corner with whatever book he could grasp. Unmoving from his spot while reading the book, he would stay the complimentary half hour and then take his leave.

Such mannerisms described his persona. Which is why Motoki couldn't help but smile as he refilled his friend's coffee for the fourth time.

The dark haired man had been at the arcade for well over a half hour; in fact, he was nearing three hours at the moment. And his textbooks hadn't been touched. No, reading was not necessary since he felt no need to retreat into a corner—he didn't even sit in a corner. He sat up front on the bar stool, not looking to hide.

And he drank.

No, nothing alcoholic. He didn't want to be impaired. Not while he was talking about another frivolous topic and simply hanging out with a blonde with odangos in her hair.

Motoki moved away to fire up another batch of coffee; his friend wasn't going to leave anytime soon. While the dark haired man might continually deny he was not social enough to attend parties, Motoki new better. Truthfully, until now, Mamoru had never found a scene that interested him.


	36. Warm Naps

"_Yawn_." Usagi failed to hide her sleepiness as another yawn pushed out of her mouth.

"What's wrong?" asked Motoki. The blonde man looked at girl who offered him a small smile.

"Homework ran late last night," she said with a small nod. She rested her head on the counter in front of her.

"Do you want to take a small nap in the back?"

Usagi mumbled a small sound.

"Go ahead, Usagi," said the bartender, slightly ruffling the girl's hair. "I'll wake you up in a while."

Usagi made her way to the backroom and immediately curled herself up on the couch.

"Where's Odango?" asked Mamoru, sipping his coffee. "I figured she'd be here by now."

"Huh?" asked Motoki. He was busy getting together an order for table of seven. "She's sleeping in the back," he said, adding whipped cream and sprinkles to an order.

Mamoru raised his eyebrows in question, but his friend was too busy to notice. The dark haired man walked himself to the backroom to find the blonde woman sleeping soundly. She gave a slight shiver as if she could do with a blanket.

Near a half hour later, the blonde girl awakened.

She stretched, chasing the sleep out of her body. Her body felt cold at the beginning of her nap, but now she felt warm and rested.

Smiling at still feeling warm, Usagi sat up and felt something fall on her lap. It was a very familiar green jacket.


	37. Pretty Things

Usagi whimpered as Motoki put another Band-Aid on her. The fingers on both of her hands were covered with them.

"Hold still, Usa," said Motoki as he smoothed out the pink Band-Aid. "There we go." He left the first aid kit in front of her and went to help another customer.

"Thanks," she said as she went back to her needle and thread. "That's the last time I wake up Luna from her cat nap," she said, looking at the scratches on her sweater.

"What's new, Odango?"

"Ouch!" screeched Usagi as she plucked herself with the needle again. She looked behind her to glare at the dark haired man that took her by surprise. "Don't do that, baka!"

"Eesh," said Mamoru, taking a seat next to her. "What's got your odangos wound up this tight?"

"I'm trying to fix my sweater—ouch!—and it's just hurting me," she said, blowing on her hurt finger. It was turning red where the needle jabbed it.

"Here," said Mamoru reaching for a purple Band-Aid. He put one on her gently. "You're going to look like a Mummy soon with all these Band-Aids."

"Who asked you?" she replied with a glare. She stuck her tongue out at him and he stuck his out at her, too. Her eyes narrowed at his action but she couldn't fight a small smile from forming. With a sigh, she reached to finish her sweater.

"Here," he said, taking the sweater out of her hands. "Let me finish it."

"Can you sew?" asked Usagi, grateful for not having to endure the sharp needle anymore.

"A little," he said, making exact stitches. "Anyway, it'll be chilly tomorrow and a sweater will keep you warm better than a hand covered in bandages."

"At least they're pretty!" she protested, looking at the colourful Band-Aids on her fingers.

"I guess," said Mamoru with a shrug. He glanced up from his sewing to stare at her for a second. Going back to stitching the sweater, he said, "I just find other things prettier."


	38. Crowns

Chasing butterflies was something Luna was prone to do. While the black cat could talk and think like any other two legged human, there were some cat-like habits in which she indulged. So her blonde owner couldn't say no to a day in the park where spring time brought in butterflies hovering over newly burgeoned flowers.

So many butterflies danced around the black cat. Red ones, yellow ones, big ones, little ones. Luna wasn't picky which one she swatted, she just wanted to play.

While the cat played, Serena picked a few daises. She sat down with her bouquet and got to work. Inserting and tying the stems together, she quickly finished a daisy crown.

"Hey, meatball head," called a voice from above.

The blonde looked up to see Darien.

"Look," she said, holding up her handiwork, "it's a crown."

The dark haired man bent down till he was eye-to-eye with her.

"It's nice," he said with a nod. "Does that mean you're a princess?"

"Of course!" she declared with a laugh. "And Luna's my royal butterfly chaser."

"Luna?" he asked confused. Serena pointed to her black cat. "Oh, Luna!" he said in recognition.

Just then the cat in question raced up to the duo.

"Wha—no, no, wait!" cried Darien. But it was too late. With a _thump_ the cat landed on him. He could feel tiny claws digging into his shirt and the tail smacked against his thigh.

"Luna!" cried the blonde upset, but the cat ran away from them chasing yet another butterfly.

"Nice cat," said the dark haired man.

"Aww, sorry," said Serena. "She's usually very well behaved." The blonde glared at her cat, silently promising to reprimand her later.

"Yeah, well now I've got fertilizer on me," said Darien with a sigh.

Sure enough, Serena saw plant fertilizer on his once-clean shirt and pants.

"Here," said the blonde, lifting up with her crown of daises. "I think you need this more than me—they smell nice." She leaned forward so she could place the crown of daises on him.

"So," said Darien, holding onto her sides to steady her. The blonde looked at him in surprise, her hands holding the crown hovering over his head. The dark haired man leaned forward till he could whisper in her ear. "Does this make me your prince?"

The blonde felt her cheeks redden and licked her suddenly dry lips. Her mouth couldn't muster a single word nor could she will her body to move. All she could do was stare back at him while he stared at her. Darien tugged her the slightest bit closer, causing the blonde to clutch his shoulders to keep her balance. In all the disarray, the crown dropped on his head.


	39. Chemistry

"What're you doing, Odango?" asked Mamoru as he sat next to the blonde. She had several glasses in front of her.

"Science!" she replied, softly shaking a glass with blue liquid before pouring half the contents into another glass that contained yellow liquid.

Mamoru leaned forward to see the new glass turning from yellow to green.

"That's not paint," he said, and looked past the glasses to bowls of white crème. "Oh, I get it," he said, turning to her, "food coloring!"

"Yup!" said the blonde, nodding her head. "I'm helping Motoki-onii-chan make colored crème."

"Can I help?"

"Sure," she said, passing him another glass with yellow liquid. "You shake that while I get the red ready; we're making orange!"

"Are we making a full rainbow?" He swirled the glass he was given and held it out for her as she poured the red into it.

"Just making as many colors as we can," she said, leaning forward.

She carefully poured half of the contents from her cup into his. He gently shook his cup until he got a deep orange.

Usagi placed the orange next to the other finished colors. Currently she had red, blue, yellow, green, and orange.

"We're doing chemistry, right?" She turned to look at him in question as she reached for another cup of red.

"One type, yeah," he said.

"There are more types of chemistry?" she asked, putting the red cup in front of her.

Mamoru pulled one of the ends of her Odangos. The blonde turned to look at him, about to yell at him. But she stopped as he rubbed a bit of green food coloring out of her blonde hair. The color was out but he didn't let go yet. He twirled a finger in her strands. She saw him entangle his fingers in her hair, making her lean in closer to him.

"What're you…"

He gave her hair a quick tug before letting it fall free to her side.

Mamoru leaned closer, letting the back of his hands rub the side or Usagi's cheek. She felt the warm fingers brush her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah," he said, looking at her with a small smile, "there are more types of chemistry."


	40. Lunar Eclipse

Usagi stared at the computer screen at the library. She was following the live broadcast of the lunar eclipse. She leaned in closer as the moon slowly waned, getting darker and darker.

A hand rested on her shoulder.

"Eee—"

She felt someone cover her mouth. Her heart raced.

"Shh," said a voice in her ear. She turned to the side to see Mamoru leaning in towards her. "It's just me, 'Dango." He took his hand off her mouth and pulled a seat towards him.

"You scared me!" she said, glaring at him as he sat down next to her.

"Sorry," he said with a smirk.

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes as if to say she didn't quite believe the apology.

The dark haired man leaned in closer. "Seriously," he said, pulling at the end of her hair, "I'm sorry; I just wanted to see what you're doing."

"Oh," she said, turning back to the screen. Smiling, she looked at the dark haired man and showed him the website. "It gives a live feed of the lunar eclipse! The moon's gonna turn red soon."

"Right, the eclipse today. I didn't know you were that interested in astronomy."

She shrugged her shoulders in response. "I like the moon."

"It's nice," he nodded in agreement, "but Earth's not so bad." He reached out for her hair again, loosely braiding the strands.

She leaned back in her chair, giving him more length to braid. She looked at the waning crescent of the moon on the computer screen.

She still adored the moon. Loved looking up at it every night in the black sky. But as she felt the slight tugging of her hair, her heart quicken again.

"Yeah," she said softly, "Earth's not so bad."


	41. Bubbles

_Pop!_ went another bubble as Serena poked the bubbles she just blew. Dipping her bubble stick back into the bottle, she began the ritual of blowing more of the floating spheres that glistened in the sun.

The blonde was enjoying a beautiful spring day in the park with a bottle of bubble stuff and not a care in the world. She blew another round of bubbles that glided away from their origin, spreading outwards into the world. Red, green, yellow, and so many other colours decorated the orbs, like fashionable dresses as they danced at a ball.

Serena reached out to pop one of the bubbles but stopped when she saw a face in it. A dark haired man that was walking behind her. She whipped her head around to see Darien with his head down and a book in his hand. Without hesitation, she dipped her bubble stick in the liquid and blew a round of bubbles in his direction.

Darien felt a bubble pop as it hit his cheek and he looked up.

"Hey, meatball head," he said, walking towards her.

"Bubbles?" she asked, offering him the bubble stick and the container with the liquid.

The dark haired man looked at her hands and looked down at his book. "Why, not?" he said, putting the book on a park bench behind Serena. "I can read on a rainy day."

He gently blew into the bubble stick and let loose a copious string of bubbles.

"Wow!" said Serena in delight. She popped a few of his bubbles but couldn't reach high enough for others. "I didn't know you could blow bubbles!"

"I'm a real champion at bubbles," he said, dipping the stick into the liquid, getting it ready blow another batch. "Bubbles are pretty fascinating, aren't they?" He blew another round of the colourful spheres.

"They're fun!" The blonde danced around popping as many as she could.

"Yeah," agreed the dark haired man. "Do you ever tend to," he paused to blow another batch of bubbles, "bottle all your feelings and wish someone would just pop one of your secrets?"

Serena stopped popping the bubbles to stare at him. "Like they'd pop a secret so you can stop pretending something and," she said, "then he—I mean _the world_ knows."

"Yeah," he said, staring at her a small smile. "Exactly like that." He could see a slight redness coating her cheeks.

A bubble hovered close to Serena and touched her nose with a _pop!_


	42. Lasagna

"Here, Mamoru," said Motoki, handing him a sheet of paper.

"Thanks," the dark haired man said. "So, this is it?"

"Yeah," said the blonde, wiping the counter. "That's the recipe for lasagna. I hope it turns out well!"

A customer called in the back, and Motoki excused himself while Mamoru looked over the recipe.

Tomatoes

Eggplant

Basil

"Guess I'm stopping at the grocery store," Mamoru said, looking down at the ingredients.

He skimmed at the directions and paused at the cooking requirements.

Need:

Large pan to hold the lasagna

Stove to bake

Love for the right taste

"Make with love…" he said softly. "Hey, Odango!" he screamed to the girl currently shooting youmas on a video game.

"Yeah?" she called back, looking up from her game.

He waved the sheet with the recipe at her. "Wanna help me make lasagna?"


	43. Pool of Dreams

Usagi pulled at the elegant dress she was wearing. It was white and shimmered in the moonlight. She walked farther away from the big party and into the maze of a garden.

The hedges grew taller than her—taller than she could see over—and she sought the comfort of isolation they would provide. She entered passageways that went no where and everywhere at once.

She knew she ought to be careful before she got lost but she couldn't stop the urge from running inside the maze. Taking left and right turns, not understanding what was driving her to reach farther into the maze. Her feet were encased in thin shoes that clung to her feet. They provided no protection from the hard ground, but she was far from worried about the blisters she was getting.

No.

She had something else on her mind. Something was calling out to her. Pleading with her to come. Tugging her body until she could do naught but follow.

And this is where she found herself.

A large fountain—an island in the middle of the maze. Water bursting out from different layers and falling with a musical ping as it fell down the different levels of the fountain. It was almost like walking down steps, leading further down to a pool of dreams.

"Hello."

Usagi gasped, clutching her racing heart. She turned around in the direction of the sound.

"Didn't mean to scare you," said a figure as he walked out of the shadows into the moonlight.

"Well you did," she said, moving farther back until she hit the fountain.

"I didn't know anyone else was here." He walked closer to her. "I was hoping to see you."

"I…"

Usagi looked up at the man, reaching towards his face. He was certainly tall. His dark hair glistened in the moonlight, the bangs falling onto a white mask. It left his face enough a mystery so he wouldn't be recognized, but it showed his eyes. She looked into his dark blue eyes and felt a slight shiver. Tingles ran down her arms and she felt the need to clutch her heart again.

"Are you cold?" asked the man. He stepped forward until he grasped her arms in his hands.

"No," she said too quickly, her breaths coming in sharp gasps. Her eyes dropped to the man's expansive chest. She shivered again when he rubbed her arms with his thumbs.

"Not cold," he agreed, leaning down to speak in her ear. "You're quite warm, actually."

A new feeling enveloped her—her mind told her she knew him but she couldn't remember him at all. Usagi hesitantly lifted a hand and slowly placed it on the man's chest. She looked up at him as her fingers crawled upwards. It was his turn to shiver.

"I know you," she said. It wasn't a question. Her mind insisted she knew the man but couldn't tell from where. Or when.

"Yes," the man nodded. "But," he said, leaning towards her, "you need to remember."

She felt a soft, open mouthed kiss on her cheek. She sighed, clutching his chest tighter. Usagi looked back into his eyes—

_Ding ding! Ding ding! Ding ding!_

The blonde groaned at the unwanted intrusion.

She grumbled turning off her alarm clock.

Usagi laid back on her bed and sighed remembering those dark blue eyes. She could only remember one other person with that eye colour.

"Too bad it could never be him," she said with a sigh. She lifted a hand to her cheek, remembering the soft kiss. "Too bad…"


	44. Tingle

Usagi strolled down the street on her way to the Crown Arcade. It was a quiet Saturday and she was wearing one of her favorite skirts. She looked down at the blue ruffled skirt and couldn't help but smile as the color reminded her of a pair of dark blue eyes.

Looking up at the sky, she saw the white clouds and felt the sunshine. She took a deep breath remembering how the last time she went to the Crown Arcade, Mamoru's thigh brushed her own.

He was reaching forward for a napkin when his leg inched closer to her own. She felt the material of his pants against her thigh. Her face shot up to look at his and found his own looking at her.

She pulled at her skirt again and her thigh tingled at the memory.

"_Watch out!_"

Before Usagi could register anything, she was pushed against a wall. She felt cold bricks behind her. The rough texture scraping her back through her blouse. Her front was a whole different story.

She couldn't move from being pressed against the wall, but she could feel the warmth. Hands grasping her waist, holding her steady. Her chest was pressed against what felt like another brick wall, but softer. Warm breaths against her neck made her face heat and she felt a pair of pants against her thigh. Something—someone was pushed against her, keeping her in place.

Usagi heard a crash and people talking about a bicycle accident. Someone lost control while biking. It happened all the time, but she wasn't expecting to be saved from being part of the crash today.

She felt a slight tug on the ends of her hair. The body in front of her moved back slightly, giving her room to make minor movements. She lifted her head and looked up into dark blue eyes.

"You okay?" he asked.

He gently rubbed the back of her neck, reaching upwards onto her scalp. She felt herself leaning into the touch.

Yesterday it was just her thigh that tingled; today she couldn't help but feel the warmth all over.


	45. Radio

"This is Wayne Macabre," belted out Serena's radio alarm clock, "and you're tuning in to KHMS. This is Flaming Snot with their latest song _S'not Your Mother's Music_!"

Listening to the radio, Serena brushed her hair, taking out the tangles. She'd been busy for the past ten minutes setting the blond locks just right so she could put them up in her customary hair style.

Grasping a few strands, she wondered if putting her hair in a bow like Mina wouldn't be a nice change. She leaned in towards her dresser, moving away knick-knacks and little troll figurines.

"I had a ribbon here last week," she muttered to herself, shoving a few hair pins away. Serena had a gross amount of hair pins for her traditional hairstyle.

She picked up a scrunchie and wondered if she should put her hair up like Lita. A conventional pony tail would be easier. Picking up a green scrunchie, she stretched it on her hand to check the elasticity.

"Ugh!" cried Serena, and the scrunchie shot out her hands, landing back on the dresser. The blonde sighed in disappointment to see that her scrunchie was broken, laying on her dresser like a long caterpillar instead of forming a doughnut-like shape.

She looked back at herself in the mirror. Serena couldn't bare to cut her hair short like Ami's but perhaps she could leave it out like Rei. Swishing her head back and forth, she saw the fluidity of the motion as her hair travelled in waves.

"We have a special request," cried the radio.

Serena looked at her radio; she always loved special requests.

"A caller says _Your hair's insane and I always make fun it, but I love it all the same_. Don't know who it's for but the caller signed it _Sincerely, your Jerk_. So whomever it's for, here's a special song for you."

She wouldn't dare admit to herself that the caller just might've been her jerk. Never the less, Serena let out a small smile as she leaned down to pick up her hair pins. Putting her hair in her usual hair style, she swayed along to the song.

_Don't stop_

_Don't change_

_Stay beautiful _


	46. Not Jealous

He's back, Mamoru thought to himself as the green haired kid walked into the arcade. Usagi mentioned he was in her class and would occasionally talk to her in the halls, but it was becoming more frequent now. The blonde thought nothing of this, but the dark haired man wasn't so sure. He knew this specific customer wasn't here for the milkshakes. No, this patron was slowly making his way into Mamoru's territory.

Not that the dark haired man had any claims to anything, as he repeatedly told himself.

To have a claim, he would have to want something.

And for that to happen, he would need to admit something to himself. And he wasn't about to admit anything.

Of course he didn't think of Usagi in any special way. They were just friends—no, not even that. They just sat next to each other for a few hours everyday at an arcade. Talking and playing with each other was just the end result.

It's not like Mamoru thought about the blonde much. Just every evening when he said his goodbye to her. And every night before heading to bed, waiting for the next day so he could see her again. It's totally normal to think about a non-friend when you wake-up and see the sun out your window. Right?

So what if this kid gets to be in Usagi's class, Mamoru thought to himself. It's no big deal if he sits next to her and makes her laugh and talks to her in the hall.

"I'm not jealous," muttered Mamoru to himself. He sipped his coffee.

"Green again, hmm?" asked Motoki.

Mamoru looked up and saw the blonde owner.

"He's back again!" grumbled Mamoru, nudging his head towards the green haired kid's direction. He clutched his coffee cup tighter.

"He's not the only green thing here," said Motoki, not looking away from Mamoru.

Mamoru looked at his coffee cup, picking it up for another sip.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said the dark haired man.

Motoki rolled his eyes and handed Mamoru a milkshake cup.

"Here," said the blonde haired man. "It's chocolate."

"Wha—"

"Go get her," said the blonde. He shoved the milkshake into Mamoru's hands and walked away.

There was a soft ringing as the bells of the Crown Arcade door rang, signaling someone entering. Mamoru saw Usagi walking into the arcade.

The green haired kid got up to move towards her.

"Odango!" shouted Mamoru. Usagi looked up at him. "I got you a chocolate milkshake!"


	47. Locked

"Jerk, jerk, jerk!" cried Usagi. She stopped her foot down as she glared at the dark haired man in front of her.

"Why're you getting mad at me?" he retorted. "You're the one that started it!" He poked her chest with his finger. "You're the one that said I couldn't do it," he said, poking her again. "You got all high and mighty in my face." He poked her another time. "You're the one that said—"

"Stop poking me!" she snapped, grabbing his finger.

"Let go," he said, pulling his finger, which caused the blonde to stumble into him.

"No!" she said, staring up at him, "you'll just poke me again."

"Hey, hey!" cried Motoki. The pair turned to look at the owner. He tugged them both and moved them in the back. "We've been over this: you can fight all you want, but do it in the back room."

Mamoru tried tugging away from his friend. "No, but she started—"

"I don't care who started it," interrupted his friend.

"I didn't start it!" cried Usagi.

"You did, too—"

Motoki slammed the back door in their faces and locked the room. He could hear more yelling but it was muffled by the closed door.

He walked back to the counter shaking his head. "I swear they argue just so I'll lock them in that room together."


	48. Tomorrow's Pie

Usagi looked at her chocolate pudding. Some days were really simple.

Feel sad?

Eat chocolate pudding.

Simple.

But days like today weren't simple. Days when Naru-chan was hanging out with her boyfriend. These were the days Usagi knew she was growing up because she somehow wasn't satisfied with chocolate pudding. For some reason, she felt like she needed someone to make her not feel sad. And it wasn't just anyone. She knew that and it didn't make her feel any better.

"Hey, Odango."

Usagi didn't need to turn her head know who it was that was tugging on her hair but she looked anyway.

"Hey," she said. The blonde twirled her spoon within the bowl of her dessert.

"Something wrong?" asked Mamoru. "You're not eating your pudding."

"Naru-chan's on a date and I'm happy for her, but…" she shrugged and gave him a small sigh. "I don't know… I just feel weird today."

"Feeling a little lonely? Left out?" he asked.

"I'll see Naru-chan tomorrow at school—"

"No, I mean as far as dating. You know if you can't beat them…" Usagi gave him a confused look. "Here," he said, spooning a mouthful of pudding. She thought he was going to feed her but instead he took a helping for himself. "A life lesson I've learned is—"

"You're eating my pudding!" she interrupted.

"Yes," he agreed, reaching for another spoonful.

"Hey!" She pulled her bowl away from him, hugging it towards her body. "You can't just—"

"You're not listening," he said, leaning towards her. Mamoru tapped her nose with her spoon. Usagi could feel the cold pudding on her nose.

"No fair," she said with a laugh. She reached up with her hand to wipe the pudding off her nose. She giggled as she saw the dark pudding on her fingers.

Mamoru leaned in closer and swiped another spoonful of pudding while she was distracted.

"My pudding!" She tried to tug his arm but froze when he stuffed the spoon in her mouth. He took the spoon out of her mouth and grabbed a helping of pudding for himself.

She gave him a smile as she licked the pudding off her fingers.

"You were saying?" she reminded him.

"Hmm?" he said, smiling back at her. He licked a small amount of the dessert off his lips. Her eyes followed the movement.

"Something about a life lesson?"

"Oh, right," said Mamoru. He took another spoonful of pudding. Mamoru's eyes twinkled slightly. "How about I tell you tomorrow over some pie?"


	49. Paper Dolls

"Do you want to make paper dolls?" asked Mamoru to the young girl. He was volunteering at a local daycare.

"Dolls, dolls!" cheered the girl, handing the dark haired man a sheet of construction paper. "Use yellow paper!"

"Yellow like lemonade! How about I cut them, hmm?" he asked, reaching for the scissor. He wasn't too comfortable handing over a pair of scissors to the young girl, even if they were safety scissors.

"Yay! I want girl dolls!"

"Then girl dolls it is!" He folded the paper on the table. "See," he said, folding the paper again, "the more folds we make, the more dolls we'll get."

"I want lots of dolls."

"Yes," agreed Mamoru, nodding his head, "lots of dolls holding hands!"

"Yay, yay!" cheered the girl. She danced in her seat as Mamoru cut the dolls.

A few minutes later, Mamoru carefully removed the excess paper and gave the girl one end to hold onto.

"And now we open the paper!"

Five identical paper dolls stood in the air holding hands.

"What's that?" asked the girl. She pointed to tops of the dolls.

"That's the head."

"No, no," she said, "those things coming out of their heads!"

"Oh, those," he said, scratching the back of his head, "uh…those are odangos."


	50. Dictionary

"Next word is _disapprobation_," said Serena as she went down the vocabulary worksheet. She and Molly were doing their English homework. They had to define several words and learn the spelling and definition for a quiz.

"That's in the Ds," said Molly as she flipped through Serena's dictionary. "Disappointed—ah, here it is! Disapprobation. Alright," Molly said, grabbing her paper and pencil, "it's a noun meaning to strongly disagree, usually on moral grounds."

"Right, one sec," said Serena. She wrote down the definition, doubling back to put another 'e' in disagree.

"Good?"

"Yup!" said Serena. "All done. Okay, the next word is _gustatory_."

"Alright, that's in the Gs," said Molly, flipping through the book again. "Ga, Ge, Gh, Go—whoa, wait a second!"

"Huh?" Serena popped her head up from her worksheet. "What, is there a page missing?"

"No, what's missing is an explanation." Molly held up the book so Serena could see it.

The blonde's eyes widened and her cheeks flushed a deep red.

"Th-that's nothing—"

"Oh, no you don't," said Molly, shaking her head. "Serena, why is Darien's picture taped next to the word gorgeous?"


	51. Fortune Teller

"Gently rest your palm on my hand, young one," said the fortune teller. Usagi gently laid her palm on the woman's hand, and the woman slowly turned the hand around until the blonde's hand laid palm side up.

Usagi had never gotten her fortune told before but couldn't pass up the opportunity when a carnival came to town. The fortune teller's tent was a deep purple with gold embroidery.

The inside of the tent had a table for the customers and the rest of it was cluttered. There was a red rose plant in a pot with several roses in full bloom.

Mamoru's favorite, Usagi thought. I wonder what he'd think of this tent. He'd probably want to clean it all, a neat freak like him.

Usagi sighed as she thought about possibly asking Mamoru to plant a rose bush with her in the park or somewhere. She'd say it was some homework assignment to make the park look nice.

She shook her head and looked at the crystal balls in the fortune teller's tent. They weren't all the same colour though—there were pink ones, blue ones, and even the traditional smokey-white one. She wondered if the lady had a green colored one like Mamoru's jacket.

"Why do you have so many crystal balls?" asked Usagi.

"My, my, aren't you the curious one?" The fortune teller gave a small chuckle and ran a finger down Usagi's hand. The blonde shivered and gave her attention back to the mysterious woman. "You're looking at me but your mind's off somewhere else, no?" The woman gave a knowing smile and folded Usagi's fingers, hiding the palm.

"Sorry, but your crystal balls were pretty and—"

"Oh, ho, that's not what I meant, child." The fortune teller rubbed her four fingers against the back of Usagi's four fingers. The blonde shivered again at the sensation. The woman let go of Usagi's hand and instead she played with the table cloth. "Your mind's always off thinking of somewhere else—"

"But my palm—"

"Or should I say someone else?" The fortune teller leaned in closer and narrowed her eyes. "One glance at your palm was all I needed, and that wandering mind of yours proves it."

"What're you talking about?"

"Your mind's not remembered him yet?"

"Remember who?" Usagi looked at her palm wondering what it told the fortune teller.

"But your heart remembers him well?" The blonde just looked at her with a confused look. The fortune teller sighed. "Here, let me," said the woman. She took the blonde's hand again and pointed to a line. "See that? That's your heart line. And this here—" she pointed to another line, "that's your life line. See how they meet up here?"

Usagi saw the two lines intersect but then they moved apart again.

"How come they move farther away after—"

"'Cause you found your love before, back in a different life."

"That doesn't make any sense—"

"Listen to me, child: you found your love in a different life, in a different time but something happened. Something separated you two."

"What?" The blonde grasped the woman's hands. "What happened? Who was he? When was this? Can I go back? How can I—"

"Downright curious you are," said the woman, chuckling again. "First off," she said, taking her hands out of Usagi's hold, "I'm not the history channel: I don't know what happened or when—"

"But—"

"Let me finish," she said, holding up her hand wanting silence. "What I do know is that fate will allow you to meet this fellow again. See the life and love lines?" She pointed again to the lines on Usagi's palm. "Yes, they separate, but they come back together again."

Usagi held up her palm closer to her eye. "We'll find each other again?"

The woman laughed at her and walked over to water her rose plant. She rubbed one of the rose's petals. It felt soft like velvet.

"What's so funny?" asked Usagi. "You just said I'll find him again and—"

"I'm laughing because he's—" she stumbled a bit and yelped out in pain. One of her fingers stung as she nicked herself on a thorn. "Alright, alright, no spoilers," she grumbled under her breath. She cleared her throat and turned to face the blonde. "Let's just say you might already be acquainted with this man."


	52. Just add Coffee

"Morning, 'Toki," said Mamoru, taking a seat in front of the blonde arcade owner. "Hey, Odango," he said, tugging on a lock of hair. "You're here early."

"Coffee?" asked Motoki, reaching for a pot.

"Please," said the dark haired man, letting out a small yawn.

"That's weird," said Usagi. She leaned closer to Mamoru and breathed in deeply.

"Are you smelling me, 'Dango?"

She looked up at him. "You smell different."

"What?" he asked, scratching the back of his head.

"I don't know," said the blonde, shrugging her shoulders. "You just don't smell the same."

"New shampoo?" suggested Motoki, adding cream to Mamoru's cup.

"No," said Mamoru, shaking his head, "nothing's changed as far as I know."

"You still smell different—not like you," she said.

"Here," said Motoki, handing his friend the cup of coffee. "Drink up."

"Thank—" Mamoru didn't finish his gratitude as he took a big gulp of the coffee. He didn't ease up from it until half the cup was done. "Aaah," he sighed, closing his eyes as if to savor the moment of caffeine-bliss.

"There it is!" cried Usagi.

"What?" asked Mamoru, nursing his coffee cup before diving down into the caffeine pool again. "There what is?"

"Now you smell like Mamoru."

"Just add coffee?" teased Motoki.

"Har, har," said Mamoru to Motoki. Mamoru raised his cup again to finish the rest of the drink.

"Do you like this Mamoru-san, Usagi-chan?" asked Motoki to the blonde girl. There was a slight twinkle in his eye as he looked at her.

"Ugh!" cried Mamoru, choking on his coffee. "Wh-what did you say?" he asked Motoki.

"I…" Usagi couldn't bring herself to say anything else as her face turned red.

"Just asking Usagi-chan if she likes you this way," he said with an innocent expression, "you know, smelling like coffee." He poured Mamoru another cup of the hot beverage. "What did you think I asked her?" he said with his eyes twinkling again.


	53. He asked me

Usagi entered the arcade and rushed over to where Motoki and Mamoru were sitting.

"Hey, Usa-chan," said the blonde owner. "Your usual?"

"Yes, please!" she said with a smile. "A chocolate milkshake with two chocolate chip cookies!"

"What's new with you, Odango?" asked Mamoru. He sipped his coffee and looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"Oh!" she gasped, as if remembering. "Do you remember my friend Kado? Really tall with long brown hair?"

"I think so," said Motoki, nodding along. He filled Usagi's milkshake and was moving over to get her cookies. "He liked apple pie and was allergic to coconuts?"

"Yes, yes! That's him. He's super nice, too," she said, leaning closer to Motoki.

"What does he want?" asked Mamoru, a little bitterness creeping into his voice.

"He asked me something," she said, a huge smile lighting up her face.

"Oh?" asked Motoki. He put her cookies on a napkin in front of her and leaned in closer, resting his elbows on the counter. "What did he—"

"You know, Usagi," said Mamoru, carefully sounding out her name, "this Kaido—Kendo—whatever friend of yours seemed pretty weird to me. Looked like he could be in some bad stuff. He's probably not even straight—_hey_!"

Mamoru grasped his hand in pain, away from the elbow Motoki just stabbed into it.

"So sorry; my elbow must've slipped," said Motoki, a little edge in his voice. His eyes narrowed as if telling Mamoru to behave. "Please continue, Usa-chan."

"Okay…" she said hesitantly. "Anyway, Kado asked me—"

"Seriously, he's probably in the closet afraid to come out. If he asked you anything, I wouldn't take it seriously—oomph!"

Motoki stuffed a cookie into his friend's mouth. The blonde owner seemed rather satisfied with himself and took no notice with the angry glares his friend delivered.

"You were saying?" Motoki said sweetly to Usagi.

"Kado asked me," said Usagi, "if you had any positions opened up at the arcade. He's looking for a part time job. Gahh—Baka, you're choking on the cookie! What's wrong?"


	54. The real stuff

"What do you think about cloning?" Serena asked Andrew. She swirled her straw in her milkshake.

"Cloning things like people?" He wiped the counter. "Or maybe milkshakes?" he asked, taping her cup and smiling.

She laughed and took a hardy sip of her drink. "Milkshakes are very yummy! Totally clone-able."

"Best milkshakes in the city!" said Andrew proudly. "So, is there someone specific you want to clone?"

"Hmm?" asked Serena, looking away. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I guess cloning would be easier," he said, leaning in. "I mean, you wouldn't have to worry about the real person not liking you if the clone liked you."

Serena nodded her head, still not looking at him. "It would be easier."

"Sure," he said, shrugging. "Lots of things can be done the easy way."

"Yeah?" she asked, looking up at him. "So cloning would be—"

"Like making milkshakes," he said, interrupting her. He looked her in the eye and leaned in closer. "Now, I could just put a little powdered mixture in a glass of milk, but I don't do that. No, I go the longer route of melting the chocolate and getting the cream ready and all that stuff. You understand?"

She sighed and nodded her head. "I guess."

"Hey," said Andrew, "the powdered milkshake stuff might be easier but it's no comparison to the real stuff." He tapped her milkshake cup and smiled.

"Think he'll like the-the," she cleared her throat scratched the back of her head, "um, the really stuff?"

"Don't know," said Andrew, looking down at his nails. "You could ask him. Better than you both cloning each other—now, that would just get confusing."

"Right, no more cloning," she said as he walked away. "Wait—what about cloning each other?"

Serena called for Andrew but he waved a hand at her as he helped a customer.


	55. Cosmo

"I don't like her," said Darien, picking up his coffee mug and drinking a hearty sip. "I think I'd know something like that about myself."

"Yeah, well, this _Cosmo_ quiz," said Andrew, holding up the magazine, "says otherwise." He read over again at Darien's answers. "You frequently initiate physical contact—"

"I pull her hair," said Darien, waving away Andrew's suggestion. "They didn't even have a multiple-choice answer for that; I had to fill it in."

"You try to converse with her at least once a day," continued Andrew, relentless despite what his friend was saying.

"She sits next to me; it would be rude not to talk to her."

"You have pet names for her—"

"Now that's pushing it!" cried Darien, setting down his coffee mug hard enough for some liquid to spill. "How are names like 'meatball head, brat, klutz,' and all that other stuff pet names?"

"Oh, they have a section on that," said Andrew, flipping through his magazine.

"Why do you even have a _Cosmo_, anyway?"

"Uh…" Andrew looked up from his magazine. "It's my sister's?"

"The one doing some research project in Africa?"

"Right, that's the one…" said Andrew looking down at the magazine as if wondering if it had some better reason why he was currently in possession of a _Cosmo_ magazine.

"Anyway," said Darien, shaking his head. "Found your page?"

"See," Andrew said, showing Darien. "It says they're pet names if only you refer to her with them."

"I seriously doubt I'm the first one to call meatball head a klutz."

"So you wouldn't mind if someone else called her meatball head?" asked Andrew raising an eyebrow.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Exactly as it sounds," said his friend, smiling now. "Maybe you're not the only one that calls her meatball head; all of her classmates could be calling her that at school. Every day. Does that make you feel a little—"

"Who? Who's been calling her meatball head?" Darien narrowed his eyes.

"Hi, Andrew, Darien!" hollered Serena, rushing up to the counter.

Andrew hid the magazine next to some other mail. "Hey, Serena. What's new with you?"

She opened her mouth to answer him but Darien interrupted.

"Meatball head," he said and nodded his head in greeting. "I'm the only one that calls you that, right? No one else calls you meatball head?"

She turned to him and said, "Yeah. You're the only one that calls me that. Why?" Her eyes widened. "Wait, are you trying to make everyone call me that?" She narrowed her eyes and leaned in closer to him. "It's bad enough you call me that; you better not spread it around, jerk!"

She got up and walked away in a huff—

"Ouch!" cried Serena, stumbling back to Darien. She tugged at the locks of hair in his hands until he let go. "And stop touching my hair!"

Andrew chuckled and smiled at Darien. "Well, if that didn't prove my point—"

"Shut up," said Darien. "You scared the crap out of me." He rubbed his fingers together, still feeling her hair in his hand.


	56. Candy Hearts

"Now use the frosting as glue to stick these two graham crackers together," said Motoki. He was helping Usagi building a gingerbread house.

She reached over for some Twizzlers, and lathered the flat side with frosting and stuck them on the newly formed roof of the house.

"Red candy shingles?" asked Mamoru, sitting next to the blonde as she worked on the house.

"Here at Motoki Industries we strive for realism," said Motoki, laughing. He laid another Twizzler on the roof.

"Wanna help?" asked Usagi, reaching over for some gum drops.

"Sure," said the raven haired man, handing her the Gum Drops and helping himself to the bowl with Nerds. He made a mountain of colorful Nerds and stuck a Lollypop in the middle making a tree.

"Can you two take over for a bit?" asked Motoki, already walking around the counter to help a new customer.

Usagi ripped open a bag of M&Ms into a bowl. Taking out the blue ones, she put them in the corner and opened another bag—

"Oops," she said as some spilled over in her arms and Mamoru's.

"Wha—!" Mamoru leaned forward and dropped candy coated chocolate on the counter. "Watch it, Odango!"

"Sorry." She reached over and took the blue ones again.

"What're you doing with all the blue ones?"

"Making a pond next to the house."

She lathered a portion of the ground next to the house with frosting in a circular shape. Counting off, she placed blue M&Ms to imitate a pond.

"Why're you making a gingerbread house, anyway?"

"Haruka-sensai is having a preschooler's camp. The little kids are drawing pictures of gingerbread houses and I thought it'd be nice to surprise them with a real one!" She smiled and reached over for more blue M&Ms.

"Blonde sweetheart," he said softly.

Usagi dropped the candy and her head turned to him.

"Wh-what did you say?" She looked at him with wide eyes. She couldn't have heard properly…

Mamoru coughed and could feel his face get warmer. Looking away from the blonde, he sought an answer with the bowl of candies.

"Sweethearts," he said, reaching for a bowl of the heart shaped candies. "Right—that's what I meant. You-you could use the blonde—I mean yellow ones for-for, um, fish? I mean in you pond. A pond would be nice with fish."

He picked up the bowl and handed it to her.

"Fish in your pond?" asked Motoki.

Usagi yelped in surprise and Mamoru tripped forward and crushed a Cadbury egg with his elbow by mistake.

Motoki walked back to stand behind the counter. "I know I've got some Swedish Fish gummies here some where," he said, looking around for a bag.

Usagi looked down at the bowl of Sweethearts in front of her; they cried colourful adorations of affection and love. She peeked at Momaru out of the corner of her eyes wishing.


	57. Knitting

"Then the needle goes through the loop," murmured Usagi, looking down at her instruction book. She wrapped her yarn around the needle and pulled through the loop like the picture in the book.

"How's the scarf coming along, Usa-chan?" asked Motoki, picking up her empty plate littered with brownie crumbs.

"I think I learned how to extend by accident," she said, "and I've dropped so many stitches…" She stared at her project, wincing as it resembled a moth eaten garment.

"It just takes practice," said Motoki, giving her a small smile. "You'll get it!"

"Taken up knitting, Odango?" said Mamoru, sitting down next to her. He ordered his usual coffee and picked up her yellow yarn ball.

"It won't work," she said with a sigh. She showed him her completed rows and groaned at the uneven width.

"You just need to count your stitches better," he said, quickly finishing her row.

"You can knit?" She looked down at his magic fingers and couldn't believe how fast they moved.

"A man of many talents," he said with a wink.

Usagi scrunched her nose and tried to hide a blush.

"Alright," she said, knitting the next row, "I put this needle through this loop and—ugh!" She winced as she dropped another stitch.

"Here," said Mamoru, turning her around so he could guide her fingers with his own. "You just pick it back up and flip it a little—there you go!" he said, as he maneuvered her fingers to successfully retrieve the stitch.

"It's back again!" she cheered.

She felt his hands nudge her to pick up another stitch. Within moments another row was completed.

Usagi shivered as Mamoru's fingers danced over her own as he flipped the knitting over to start the next row. He leaned in closer, slightly nuzzling her neck.

"See, that's what I want," cried a loud girl in the back, talking with a friend of hers.

The pair looked up to see her point to them.

"Huh?" breathed the blonde. She could feel Mamoru's warm breath against her ear.

"I want someone to just hold me like that and not care that everyone knows how much we love each other."

There was a sharp _clack_ as the knitting needles fell to the ground.


	58. Nail Polish

If my performance for these dabbles is going down, please tell me. It makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong if no body gives any feed back. Also, if anybody has any ideas for one-shots, I'd love to hear them! Thank you!

* * *

Usagi looked at the brown nail polish coating her finger nails. She grimaced at the color, missing her usual shade of Strawberry Berry Pink with glitter. However, it was a gift and she couldn't avoid putting it on without seeming rude.

She let out a long sigh and reached to finish her cookie, taking an extra large bite.

"Hey, Odango," said Mamoru, pulling up a seat next to her. Motoki automatically placed a filled coffee cup in front of the raven haired man. It was filled to the brim.

She waved her hand at him, still chewing her bite. Real attractive, she thought to herself. Her shoulders sunk.

Mamoru picked up his coffee mug and groaned as some of it splashed on the counter.

"Ugh, sorry," said Mamoru. "It got on your nails, too!"

He lifted her fingers to his mouth, trying to suck out the coffee.

Usagi let out a small yelp at the warm sensation.

"What?" murmured Mamoru. He looked at the blonde's fingernails. "It's not coming off?"

She swallowed her bite and let out a little sigh.

"Th-that's just the nail polish." Her face felt warm.

"Huh," said Mamoru, rubbing his thumb over one of her nails.

Maybe it's not a bad color, Usagi thought to herself, shivering as Mamoru continued to rub over her nails. I owe Motoki a thank you card.


	59. What's in a Name

Thank you everyone that comments. You're sweethearts and never fail to put a smile on my face!

* * *

"Ha!" cried Usagi, walking up to Mamoru and shaking her head slightly. Her hair flowed with the movement.

He coughed on a sip of his coffee. Wiping the excess fluid off is lips, he took in a few deep breaths, willing himself to face the reality of what he saw. He slightly pinched his thigh and winched at the pain, proving he was indeed awake and not suffering from a nightmare.

"Your hair…" he said.

"Yup!" said Usagi, smoothing her hands over her head. The blonde locks hung free from her head as her traditional hair style was let out today. "I'll miss it," she said sadly, rubbing the place her odangos used to reside. "But now you can't call me Odango Atama anymore! No more odangos, no more Odango Atama."

"What?" asked Mamoru. He wanted to reach out and touch the hair, but his hands were gripping his pants, wanting something to hold onto.

"Oh, but I'll miss it," she said again, sighing. "Anyway," she took a seat next to him and smiled, "it's time to teach you how to say my name. I mean you can't call me Odango anymore, right?" She chuckled, feeling a bit like an evil genius.

"Are you sure about this, Usa-chan?" asked Motoki. "Your hair is a big part of you."

"No," she said grudgingly, "but it'll be worth it in the end, right?" She turned back to Mamoru. "Alright, baka, lesson one. I'll say it slowly for you; you just have to listen." She leaned in closer, instructing him, "U-sa-gi."

He glared at her, not amused.

"Say it with me now," she urged. "U-sa-gi."

He leaned in closer, lifting a finger to her chest to poke her. "O—_poke_—dan—_poke_—go!" When he poked at the last syllable, he kept his finger on her chest.

She grabbed his finger, shaking his fist as she glared at him.

"You can't call me that anymore; my odangos are gone."

"Then put them back so the name will fit," he growled.

"You only call me that because of my hair—"

"Says who?" Mamoru leaned in closer until he was nose-to-nose with her. "It doesn't matter what you do to your hair—perm, dye, cut to you earlobes, whatever—I'm still gonna call you Odango—"

"That's not fair!" she grumbled. "You can't just—"

"—so you might's well go back to being a real Odango Atama."

"I hate you!" she groaned. Taking out a handful of hairpins from her pocket, she got up and made her way to the bathroom.

Mamoru returned to his coffee, pretending to drink it as he watched her leave out of the corner of his eyes.

Motoki let out a loud sigh and shook his head in defeat. "You couldn't just tell her you like her normal hair?"


	60. Imagine

Serena let out a little sigh, snuggling deeper into the comfy chair. She was in the deeper, less inhabited sections of the library, snuggling up with a guilty pleasure of hers: romance novels.

Her fingers crawled down her thigh, reaching her knees. She shivered at the sensation, her heart fluttering as she read the scene.

_His large hands grasped my arms, holding me close. I shuddered feeling his warm breath on my cheek. _

_ "I'm not letting you go again," he whispered. He leaned his forehead on mine. I couldn't look away from his blue eyes.._

_ I took in a deep breath and whimpered as my chest rubbed against his._

"Hey, Meatball Head."

The blonde let out a small yelp. Her book fell out of her hands. She grasped for it, almost falling off the couch.

"No!" she gasped, seeing him reach down for it.

"Wow—careful!" He bent down to pick up the book with one hand, using his other hand to keep her steady in her chair. "Sit back; I've got it."

"That's mine—give it!" She tried reaching for the book, but he held it just a bit too high for her to reach it while still sitting.

He stood up glancing at her. "Here, just let me—oh," he said, looking at the book cover. A man and woman were intimately entwined and seemed just at the precipice of a kiss.

Serena stood out of the chair and easily snatched the book, hiding it behind her back. She wanted to walk away, but she was caged between the raven haired man and her chair.

"Thanks," she murmured, feeling her face burn. She looked down at her shoes, rubbing one against the other as if wiping off an imaginary stain.

"No problem." Darien coughed, trying to find the right words. "I…uh…Is it good?"

The blonde shrugged her shoulders in reply. She tried looking up at him but got as far as his knees before her she looked back down again.

She noticed Darien's feet seemed to be shuffling nervously, too.

"It's—there's—you don't have to be embarrassed," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"I'm not embarrassed!" She had the courage to look up at him for a quick second before she looked away, swallowing tightly.

"Okay," he said, nodding his head. "Just—no, there's no just." He stepped closer to her and grasped her arms in his hands. She looked up at him, her eyes staring in surprise. "It's a book and no one can judge you for reading it—liking it or anything. Okay?"

"I'm not embarrassed if people know I read them. It's none of their business."

"Right," he said, nodding his head. "I don't know—you seemed freaked out when I saw the book."

"You caught me by surprise," she said, grasping the book tighter.

"Okay." He nodded his head again. "So, um, why do you read them? You just like them?"

"I guess," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Sometimes it's nice to imagine being in the book—imagine feeling the same things."

"Do you," he coughed slightly, squeezing her arms. He was tense all over. "Do you ever imagine someone else with you?"

Serena's eyes stared at his lips, licking her own. Her mouth suddenly felt too dry.


	61. Truth or Dare

"Truth or dare?" asked Andrew.

"When did we become fourteen year old girls?" Darien raised an eyebrow at him.

"Come on, it's fun!" urged the Andrew. "Hey, Serena!"

The blonde girl rushed to the counter, smiling broadly.

"Hi, Andrew!" She nudged Darien with her elbow. "Hey," she said, giving him a small smile.

Darien nudged her back and nodded his head in greeting.

"Sere," he said, "truth or dare?"

"Ummm," asked the blonde, thinking over the options. "Uh—gimme a sec, I haven't played this since I was fourteen—truth. Wait no, dare! No, no, truth. Definitely truth."

"Truth," said Andrew, pondering what to ask. He tapped his foot on the flooring, searching for the perfect question.

"This is ridiculous," said Darien. "You can't seriously be thinking that hard for a question. It's just a silly game."

"Silly game, hmm?" asked Andrew. He leaned in closer to his friend. "Fine. How about we put you to the test?"

"I can go after him," volunteered Serena.

"That's good sportsmanship," said Andrew, thanking her. He turned to the raven haired man.

"I'm not playing," groaned Darien.

"Just once!" cried Andrew. "Serena gave up her turn and everything!"

Darien turned to her.

"Please?" she asked, giving him a small smile.

Darien sighed and looked back at Andrew. "Just once."

"Alright! Here's a question for you: when Rika's friend Suzie asked you out, you declined saying you're interested in someone else right now. Who were you talking about?"

Darien swallowed and took in a deep breath.

"I, uh…"

"Remember, you have to tell the _truth_." Andrew folded his arms and gave his friend a mischievous smile.

Darien stole a glance at Serena. She was looking at him, waiting for answer. Her teeth were biting into her bottom lip, worrying it till it was a berry red color. Darien felt a sudden itch to lick his own lips.

"Come on," said Andrew. "Who was she, Dare?"

"Dare!" cried the raven haired man. He leaned forward, trying to grab his friend's shirt. His finger tips touched the apron for a second before Andrew quickly jumped away. "I choose dare! Give me a dare!"


	62. Fighting

"How'd it go?" asked Motoki.

Mamoru sighed and rested his head on his folded arms. He could fee the cold counter top of the Crown Arcade against his skin. He grumbled something.

"What?" Motoki leaned forward and poked his friend with a straw.

"I didn't go." The blonde owner raised an eyebrow in question. "I canceled—I didn't just stand her up on the date." Mamoru looked up at his friend after the admission. He looked back down and let out a deep sigh.

"Why didn't you go?" Motoki bit back a knowing smile.

"I was getting ready and I just couldn't get her out of my head—"

"Who, your date?" asked Motoki.

"_No_," said Mamoru, aggravated. He looked up and glared at his friend. "_Her_—Odango, meatball brains. _Usagi_."

"Ah, that _her_," said Motoki, mocking him.

"Shut up," groaned Mamoru. "You said going on a date would make me stop thinking about her all the time."

Motoki shrugged, not bothering to mention that Mamoru didn't in fact go on the date. "Maybe you should stop fighting it."

"Stop fighting what?"

"_You know_."

Mamoru looked up at him as if saying something with his eyes. Motoki just stared back, raising an eyebrow.

The dark haired man grumbled again and looked away.


	63. Planning

"You get the plan?" asked Serena to her friend Molly. They were standing a block away from the Crown Arcade.

"Yes, yes," said Molly, rolling her eyes. "This seems a bit weird, even for you, Serena."

"_Molly!_" whined the blonde. Her hands went to her hips as she tucked herself in for a lecture. "There's a deeper meaning behind it all—"

"Fine, fine!" The red head turned around and made her way to the arcade. "I'll text you when I get there."

Serena cheered and stood underneath the bus stand; it gave her a place to sit and the covered stand hid her while her plan proceeded.

* * *

"Hey, Molly!" Andrew smiled as the red head entered the arcade. "What can I get you?"

"A slice of cheese cake, please!" She sat at the counter, a few seats down from Darien. They waved a small hello to each other. She noticed his light blue dress shirt.

Molly reached for her phone to text Serena.

**Not white; light blue—should work.**

Hastily putting away her phone, she engaged the arcade owner in a conversation about the best way to make the crust for cheesecake.

"Crushed graham crackers are the easiest," said Andrew. "Love the hint of honey they give!"

The bells at the door jingled.

"Hi, Serena," said Andrew.

Darien turned to look at the blonde. She was holding a large, opened container of water.

"Careful with that," said Molly. She bit her lip, trying to hide a small smile.

"Yeah," said the blonde, coming closer. "I've got it—_woah!_"

She stumbled forwards.

Darien reached for her.

_Splash!_

"Gomph!" he gurgled. He ran his hand down his shirt to feel the cold, damp cloth. "My shirt!"

"Sorry," said Serena. She wrapped her hands around her back, crossing her fingers. "It was an accident."

Coughing, she hid a smile staring at Darien's chest. The wet shirt clung to the muscles, outlining the dark haired man's impressive physique.

"Klutz," he said. "Why were you even carrying that thing?" She shrugged her shoulders in response, not looking away from his chest. Darien bent down to pick up her now empty container of water. He handed it to her and sighed. "It's the third this month!"


	64. Dreams

Mamoru tugged at her hand, pulling the blonde.

"Wait—wha—?" Usagi stumbled and ran into him. "What're you—hey!"

He pushed her back against the wall, caging her with his own body. His fingers rubbed up and down her arms, squeezing slightly to hold her in place.

Leaning down, he buried his face in her hair. He breathed in deeply. The once faint scent that taunted him was now held at his mercy. He had the sudden urge to bend down and mark her. Claim her so no one else would even think about touching her.

His hand rested on her hip, pulling her closer to him. Her hand shot out and clutched his shirt, pulling at the fabric. He'd like to think she was trying to leave her own mark. To take a piece of him within herself.

She gasped as he ran his hand up her side. It rested right under her breast in a silent warning that it could go higher.

Pulling at his shirt, Usagi reached upwards until there was a slight hint of bare flesh at his waist. She used her other hand to touch the exposed skin. She sighed at the hot skin on her fingertips.

"'Dango," he groaned. He pulled at her hand, removing her touch. It was too much. He could still feel it on his waist, fiercely hot like a brand marking him.

She whimpered as he pushed her hand against the wall. His body leaned in more and the hand at her waist grazed against her breast. She gasped at the contact, unconsciously leaning into the touch.

Her hand clutched his shirt tighter, pulling his body even closer, her head fitting against his neck. She could feel his neck with her lips as she opened her mouth. Her lips suddenly felt too dry. Her tongue dratted out, wetting them. She whimpered as she accidentally caught his neck in the process. She could hear him groan in his throat.

He pulled his head back, looking at her. A red blush covered her cheeks. Her eyes glistened, staring back into his eyes.

"Odango." He swallowed but couldn't seem to get rid of the weight in his throat. Just say it, he thought. Just say it once. "I…"

_Bing-Bing! Bing-Bing-Bing! Bing-Bing!_

"Ugh!" Mamoru groaned, reaching for his alarm clock. He turned off the alarm and feel back on his bed. All he could see was the white ceiling. He closed his eyes trying to recapture the dream. He groaned again, pulling at his hair. "I can't even say it in a dream!"


	65. Survey

"Hey, Serena," said Melvin, walking up to her with a clipboard in hand. She was sitting at the counter of the Crown Arcade next to Darien. They were eating a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

"Hi, Melvin," she said. She offered him a cookie.

"No, thanks," he said, shaking his head and fidgeting with his glasses. "I was hoping you can help me with something." He turned his clipboard around to show her the sheet of paper. "Can I ask you some questions for a survey?"

"Mmk," she said, swallowing her bite. She reached for another cookie.

"First question," he fidgeted with his glasses, looking at the clipboard. "An apple and a strawberry are in a fruit bowl—are you in love with anyone?"

"_Ack!_" Serena coughed, choking on her bite.

"Woah—" Darien grabbed her torso, pulling her towards him as he patted her back. "Careful, Meatball head."

She wheezed for a few moments, taking deep breaths.

"Huh," said Melvin, not taking her eyes off of her. He was hurriedly writing on his clipboard, observing her. "Interesting."

"What's interesting?" asked Darien. He still held the blonde to him, rubbing her back. "You okay?" he asked her. He wiped a few cookie crumbs off her face.

Melvin turned to look at him. He took off his glasses, blew on them, and then cleaned them with his shirt. Putting them back on, he looked at Darien for a few moments. "Huh." He turned back to his clipboard and wrote a few more lines.

"Melvin, what kind of a question was that?" Serena glared at her classmate, sitting back in her chair again. She thanked Darien as he gave her a drink.

"Well, that was a bust," said Melvin. He sighed looking down at his clipboard.

"What?" Serena was very confused.

"What exactly is the purpose of this survey?" asked Darien. He crossed his arms and glared at Melvin.

"Oh, that," said Melvin with a smile. "I'm trying to find an unattached girl to date. I think it's time I explored the romantic sea!"

"A girl that's single?" asked the blonde.

"Exactly!" Melvin smiled suggestively. He held out a hand, striking a dramatic pose. "It's time I find a siren to tempt me away from my bachelor days! Look out girls, Melvin's coming!"

"That's, um," Darien scratched his head, looking for the right word, "brave?"

"Very," he said nodding. "And bravery is just one of my many appealing traits."

"Right…" she said. "So, got any more questions for me?"

"Nah," he said, shrugging his shoulders and walking away. "You failed the first one."


	66. Addiction

Please review after reading! It makes authors feel like their work is worthwhile. ^_^

* * *

"Over 7 billion people on this Earth," said Darien. He pushed his coffee away from him and stared at Andrew.

"That's a lot of people," said Andrew, nodding his head.

"That should be enough people, right?" Darien said, pulling at his hair. "That should be more than enough people…"

"But…?" Andrew moved Darien's coffee away. The blonde bartender smiled thinking his friend's caffeine addiction was finally trumped. Then a frown quickly formed on his face because a cup of coffee was easier to get than Darien's new addiction. And it was making his friend very anxious.

"But," said Darien. He put his head on the counter. "Over 7 billion people on this Earth but it's still not enough because I can only think about her."


	67. Hoping

Thanks to all my reviewers! It's nice to get a little thank you nudge. ^^

* * *

"Why do you hate Valentine's Day?" asked Molly. She took a bite out of her sandwich.

Serena leaned back against the tree in the school yard. It was nice to have a faux-picnic for lunch before heading back to the classroom. "It's not that I hate it or anything—"

"You said you didn't care for it. I mean, I figured you'd at least look forward to the candy."

"Candy's nice," said the blonde, shrugging. "But you get candy for Halloween, too."

"But Halloween isn't for hearts and love." Molly looked at her friend. "You can't seriously tell me that's what bugs you."

"It's not that it bugs me…" Serena sighed and put down her lunch. She turned to Molly and stared at her. "We're best friends, right?"

"Yeah," said Molly, nodding her head. "Secrets to the grave, and even then you couldn't get them out of me."

"Right," said Serena, laughing. "I don't hate Valentine's Day—no, really, I don't," she said, "It's just… I know it sounds stupid, and it's not like I hate love," she said shrugging, "it's more that I hate hoping for him—you know, _him_—to say something every year and being let down."


	68. Dinner

"Serena!" called Andrew, waving as she walked into the restaurant.

She rushed over to join Andrew and Darien at their table. They were both wearing tuxes. Andrew thought it would be a nice idea to have a classy Friday night at a restaurant—dressed up and all.

The restaurant was semi-fancy.

Nothing over the top, so it didn't require making a reservation, but the waiters walked with a certain demeanour and crisp uniforms that expected the guests to dress just as nicely.

Serena reached the two men, and they stood up out of their chairs for respect.

"Sorry I'm late—I had trouble finding the right dress," she said, nervously rubbing her hands over her navy blue dress.

"You look beautiful," said Darien, smiling. Both Andrew and Serena turned to look at him. "You know," he said, rubbing the back of his head, "like how people look in dresses. Beautiful and stuff…"

"Can't say I'd ever look beautiful in a dress," said Andrew. Darien glared at him. "Anyway, why don't we sit?"

"Yes, of course," she said, turning to pull her chair out.

"Here." Darien moved to pull her chair out for her.

"How nice of you," said Andrew, smiling and raising an eyebrow.

"Don't—just," stuttered Darien, moving back to his seat, "it's just what you do in place like these."

"Thanks," said Serena, running her hand over her dress again. Her cheeks pinked as she looked at Darien.

"So, is Molly joining us soon?" asked Andrew as Darien and Serena sat. Andrew still stood up at the table.

"Molly?" Serena looked confused. "Wait, was I supposed to ask Molly to join us?"

"Is she not coming?" asked Andrew, concerned.

Serena shook her head. "I—no, sorry—"

"It's okay!" said Andrew, smiling. He backed away from the table, running to the door. "I'll go find Molly! You two stay here and eat dinner together."


	69. Hate?

"It's sweet of you to ask," said Serena, giving her classmate a small smile, "but I'm going to have to say no to movie, sorry."

"Don't be like that," he said, moving closer. "It's just one date."

Serena backed away. "Sorry, I just don't see you like that," she said, shrugging.

"A short movie—it doesn't even have to be dinner afterwards." He moved to touch her arm, but she moved it way too quickly.

She turned, hoping to make a quick get away. "I have to go—ugh!"

The blonde looked up at the wall that was blocking her escape. She stared into a pair of dark blue eyes.

_Help_ she mouthed to him. She walked closer to him, inching away from her classmate.

"Is there a problem here?" asked Darien, pulling her closer to him. She rested her hands on his chest, silently insisting to herself that there should be some distance. Because being near him felt too good to walk away from.

"No problem." She cringed hearing her classmate; she just wanted to get away. "Just asking a pretty girl on a date."

"Maybe you should ask someone," said Darien. Serena held in a whimper as she could feel his body move against her as he spoke. "I don't think she's interested." He pulled her closer and gasped as she was flush against him.

"Look," said the persistent suitor, "this is between me and Serena. It's not like you're her boyfriend or anything—"

"I've got a better shot at being her boyfriend than you've got," said Darien, rubbing her back up and down. "Maybe you should stop hitting on my future girlfriend."

"No way!" he said, scoffing. "She'd never date you! She hates you, don't you, Serena?"

Darien looked down at her, wondering if there was any truth to the words. It bothered him to think she hated him, but stung worse to think they'd never have a future of anything.

She stared back into his eyes. He couldn't possibly think she hated him. On impulse, grabbed his collar, got on her tip-toes, and nudged his lips with her own. Her intention was a slight peck, but she groaned as Darien lifted her higher for a better angle.

He brushed his lips over her own, caressing until she opened her mouth to let out a moan. Pulling her lips farther apart, he nipped at the top lip, lapping it with his tongue to heal the burn. She shuddered, letting out a sigh.


	70. Scotch Tape

"Here, Serena," said Andrew, handing her a large roll of Scotch tape. "You sure you'll be okay?"

She reached for her newly ripped poster. It met an unfortunate fate, but Andrew was kind enough to lend her the supplies to fix it in the back room.

"Thanks!" she said, smiling at him. "I should be fine, but I'll holler if I need anything."

Andrew left to help some customers as she pulled the tape with a _kheechk! _ She held the sticky side with her fingers and let the roll fall to the floor.

"Alright, time to tape that poster." She reached for her project and her hair slid down her shoulder. "Ouch!" she grimaced as her stuck to the tape. "Get off!" she muttered, trying to pull her hair free.

She twirled around, trying to separate the two, accidentally kicking the roll of tape.

_Kheechk!_

Another batch of tape pulled from the roll and successfully attached itself to her leg. "No, no, no," she chanted, trying to wave her leg free.

"Meatball head, what're you doing?"

Serena looked up at the entrance to the door. Her face turned red at the thought of Darien finding her tangled in a roll of Scotch tape. There would be no end to the klutz jokes…

"Taping something…" she mumbled, keeping her head to the floor.

"Here," said Darien, reaching forward and pulling at the roll of tape.

"Careful!" cried Serena, "it tends to—"

_Kheechk!_

"Ugh!" he cried, as the tape stuck itself around his arms.

"Let me," she said, reaching for the roll.

"Wait, no—"

The roll tumbled out of their hands.

_Kheechk!_

"My hair!" cried the blonde, as another helping of Scotch tape stuck to more of her hair. She pulled at the strands, pulling Darien along, too.

"Don't do that," he said, grabbing her hands. "You'll just damage your hair."

"Then what do I do?" she said frowning. "It won't come off!"

"Let's cut the tape off of us first," he said, sighing. "Where're the scissors?"

"I don't know. Maybe Andrew still has them?" She spun her body around, looking for a pair.

"No, don't move!"

His hands reached out to grab her, trying to hold her steady. She slipped backwards, her foot stumbling over the roll of tape.

_Kheechk!_

"Gahk!" she cried, holding onto his shirt as she fell onto him.

"No!" Darien held her as she fell forward. "Umph!" He grunted as his back hit the floor, his hands around the blonde as she laid against his chest.

"Sorry," she mumbled, trying to raise her body off of him. "Ugh!" She groaned as she realized the tape had wound around both of their bodies, sticking them together.

The pair turned their heads when they heard footsteps at the door. Andrew stood with a pair of scissors in hand.

"What's with all the noise?" He looked down at the pair as they laid on the floor, covered in Scotch tape. "What've you two been doing…?"


	71. Light Bulb

"Let me get a chair," said Andrew, giving Darien the light bulb. One of the ceiling lights of the Crown Arcade went out and the pair was trying to quickly fix it.

The door bells jingled signaling a new customer entering.

"Hey," said Serena, walking up to Darien, "why do you have a light bulb?"

"Maybe I'm just that bright," he said, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

"Ha ha," she said, sticking out her tongue at him.

"Nah, the light bulb went out. 'Drew and I are trying to replace it."

"Here's the chair!" said Andrew, pulling it up underneath the broken bulb.

Darien wiggled it slightly. "I'm not sure it can hold us standing on it, Drew."

Andrew held the sides of the chair and tried to get one foot on the seat. "Whoa!" he cried, as the chair jiggled underneath him.

Serena looked at the two men. "How about I try?" The two looked at her. "What? I'm light enough!"

"I don't know," said Andrew, scratching the back of his head.

"You could get hurt, Meatball Head."

"Don't worry," she said, reaching up to stand on the chair. "I'll be careful."

"Yeah," said Darien, grabbing her legs to keep her steady. "Careful's definitely your middle name…"

"Well at least I'm not a—"

"Not now," said Andrew in a stern voice. "Insults later. Let's just finish this quickly."

Serena stood up and unscrewed the old light bulb, handing it down to Andrew. Darien passed her the new bulb, keeping her lower body steady as she finished the job.

"All done," said Andrew proudly. "Thanks for the help, Serena!"

She smiled down at him.

Darien tugged on her pant leg. "Let's get you down, Meatball Head. I'll buy you a milkshake."

"Yes!" She jumped in joy, wiggling the chair.

"Careful!" cried Darien. He grabbed her legs, pulling her body onto his. The chair fell backwards with a clang.

Andrew picked up the chair and turned to look at them. "You two okay?"

Darien held back a groan as Serena's body slid down his own. She was flushed against him and he could feel every swell and crevice.

"Perfect."


	72. Middle Man

"Think he likes me?" asked Usagi, twirling the straw in her milkshake.

"Hmm." Motoki looked at her wondering just what to say. He knew he couldn't tell her what Mamoru confided in him, and he also couldn't tell Mamoru any of Usagi's secrets. It was hard to be the middle man, especially when neither of them knew they put him in that position. "I think you like him." She blushed at his words, looking away. "And you'd like him to like you."

She shrugged her shoulders, not admitting anything.

"I'm probably not his type," she said, sighing.

Motoki had to literally bite his tongue to not say anything. He winced at the pain, thinking of what he could say to her without betraying Mamoru.

"Maybe his type isn't what you think it is."

"Maybe…" She nodded her head but her shoulders sank in defeat.

"What's your type, Usa-chan? Or is just Mamoru your type?"

"My type?" She looked up at him surprised by the question. "Huh, I don't know."

"Black hair and blue eyes like Mamoru?" asked Motoki.

"It's not that—well, yes, it is that, but it's not just that." She nursed her milkshake in her hands. "He makes me feel something inside. Not like scared—well, it is a little scary—but, you know," she said, looking up at Motoki smiling, "I get excited seeing him and then when I'm with him, I'm just so happy." She looked away, crossing her arms. "I don't know. Maybe that's weird and doesn't make any sense—"

"No, it makes perfect sense. You know," said Motoki leaning in closer until she did, too, as if they were sharing a secret, "When you're with Mamoru, I think he gets happy, too."


	73. Petals

"He loves me," Serena said, pulling off a petal from the flower, "he loves me not. He loves me." She rubbed the petal gently. There didn't seem to be any other petals on the flower. She sighed as she plucked the last petal off t he flower. "He loves me not—"

"Hey, Meatball head," said Darien, looking down at her. Her lap was covered in colorful flower petals. "Who doesn't love you?"

"What—no one!" She scrambled to hide the evidence of her 'experiment.' "I'm, uh, just doing a little…research? Yeah," she said, nodding her head, "it's research."

"Fine," he said, shrugging his shoulders. He lifted her bare flower, all of the petals residing on her lap. "You're out of petals."

"Yeah. Guess he doesn't love me," she said, giving him a sad smile. He could see her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Here," he said, putting his hand behind his back. "Maybe you need a new flower." He brought his hand back, now holding a beautiful red rose.

_He loves me._


	74. Roses

Thanks to Dertupio for the idea! This is Mamoru just a little jealous.  
If anyone else has an idea for a drabble, don't be shy about sharing! ^_^

* * *

Usagi dashed to the counter of the Crown Arcade holding a bouquet of red roses. "Look how pretty!" She took a deep breath, enjoying the rich aroma.

"They're gorgeous! Do they need water?" Motoki reached behind him for a large pitcher.

Mamoru looked at the flowers, giving them a slight glare. "Did, uh, someone give those to you, Odango?"

"Yeah," she said, handing them to Motoki. "You won't believe who!"

"Someone trying way to hard," said Mamoru, turning to her. "Don't tell me you're the type of girl that falls for a couple of flowers. I bet you barely know this person—"

"_This person_," interrupted Motoki, "probably meant well giving you flowers, Usagi."

"Yeah," she said, nodding her head to Motoki. She turned to Mamoru. "They smell great and—"

"What if they have bugs in them!" Mamoru reached for the bouquet, but Motoki moved away too quickly.

Moving farther back, Motoki put the pitcher away from Mamoru. "Something you need to get off your chest, Mamoru?"

"I…" Mamoru turned to Usagi. "Are you doing anything with this flower-giving person?"

"I guess," she said shrugging. "We're going to the movies this Friday."

Mamoru groaned inwards, putting on a fake smile. "That's…that's great…"

"Do you want to come?" She walked to the pitcher, pulling out a single rose.

"Come?" Mamoru wasn't sure if everyone entering the movie theater would leave fully intact. He coughed, shaking his head clear of the image. "I don't think your, uh, this person of yours would like me intruding—"

"Makoto-chan wouldn't mind," she said, walking back up to him. She smelled the rose, letting the scent linger just a bit before handing it to Mamoru.

He looked down at the flower in her hand. "Makoto?" It was a girl's name. One of her girl friends.

"Red roses are your favorite, right?" she asked, nudging the flower towards him. "These are from her garden."

Mamoru reached his hand out to take the rose. He couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips. He twirled the rose in his hand and smelled the gentle scent.

"Her garden's coming along well, then?" asked Motoki.

Usagi nodded her head. "Yeah, lots of pretty flowers." She turned back to Mamoru, giving him a soft smile. "I thought you'd like some roses."


	75. Storm Prep

Thanks for all the reviews, everyone. A special shout-out to "Boston" for this idea. I couldn't make the storm go away, but perhaps this'll make you smile during the hurricane.  
Please be careful if you're in Hurricane Irene's path! Get your supplies prepared and check the storm shelter locations in your town/city/state. Be safe!

* * *

"I've got bread, milk, some fruits," said Darien, reading off his list. "Do I need eggs?"

"Nah," said Andrew, "the power'll probably go out. You couldn't cook the eggs. Just make sure you've got plenty of flashlights and batteries."

"Right." Darien added them to his Hurricane Preparation List. "I've got plenty of first aid supplies."

They were expecting a large storm. Andrew was closing the Crown Arcade early to make sure he got his own shopping done before the hurricane hit.

"Hey, Serena." Andrew placed a milkshake in front of her. "Chocolate?"

"Thanks," she said. "Are you closing soon?"

"Yeah," he said, nodding his head. "I should probably tell the kids playing video games they've got about twenty minutes to shoot as many aliens as they can."

Darien put down his list, helping himself to the rest of his coffee. "You ready for the hurricane, Meatball head?"

"Yup. Mom and I went shopping for everything. Oh!" She reached into her bag, looking for something. "I got something for you!"

"Yeah? You didn't have to."

"Wait—here it is!" She pulled out a glass canister with a candle inside. "It'll be good if the lights go out."

"Thanks," he said, reaching for it. He pulled open the top, smelling the candle. "It's coffee!" He turned to her, smiling.

"Yeah. I thought you'd like it incase you couldn't get a cup till the storm ends."

"You're really sweet, Meatball head." He tugged on the ends of her hair. He smelled the candle again, thinking coffee won't be the only thing he'll miss during the storm.


	76. Admitting

Stay safe with the hurricane, everyone!

A special thanks to "MExTRUNKS4ever" for the story idea! Thanks! :D

* * *

Serena was alone in the canoe, laying down and staring up at the clear sky. Clouds passing by in such a lazy way that she couldn't tell the passage of time. Maybe time stood still on this serene sea.

"I didn't want it to happen," she said.

There was no one to talk to, but she had the strangest feeling that she could talk about anything here. Like there was a presence that asked her to open up and spill everything. The calm water, the blue sky, and wooden canoe all hung onto her every word. She was talking to no one and everyone at the same time.

"Really, it wasn't something I planned. If I was going to plan something like this, I'd pick a much easier person. I mean, I'm basically _crushing_—there, I said it—crushing on someone that probably sees me as…as…I don't know. I don't know what he sees me as, but it probably isn't girlfriend material."

A soft breeze fluttered by, as if reassuring her someone was listening.

She sighed, breathing in the salty smell of the ocean. The brackish smell should be offending, but it calmed her senses, making her feel more intoned with nature.

"I don't know if anything will happen between the two of us, but at least I'm not avoiding it anymore. No more pretending with myself."

The canoe rocked slightly. She sat up in a jolt.

"Steady." She grabbed the sides of the canoe as a slight wave strode by her.

She looked into the water, seeing her reflection. It was slightly distorted by the waves, but was smoothing back until it showed her true form like a mirror.

"What? You want me to admit it to myself?" she asked out loud. She wasn't sure who she was speaking to. Maybe the little part of herself that was still in denial.

She looked down at her reflection. "I am Serena Tsukino." She pointed to her reflection, watching it point back. "Yeah, that's me! And I like him." She breathed in deeply, sitting up straight. "That's right—I admit it. I like—no, I _love_ Darien Shields! There, I said it!" She leaned back, laughing. Above her clouds hovered by on a sky blue canvas.

"I said it and I'm proud!" she declared. She screamed it to the sky, the ocean, and everything in between. "I love him! His blue eyes and his big brain and I even love the way he fights with me!"

Serena sighed, closing her eyes. Hugging herself tight, she felt the deep recess of her mind open. No more letting little parts of her stay in denial. There would be no more disputing about this issue. She smiled and whispered, "_I love him._"


	77. Study Buddy

A special thanks to MExTRUNKS4ever for this story idea! It's time to make Usagi a little jealous. :D

* * *

Usagi stole another glance at the back table. There they were. Mamoru and his perfect, wonderful, fantastic study-buddy sitting cozy like two peas in a perfect, wonderful, _fan-freaking-tastic_ pod.

"Eh, everything okay, Usagi?" said Motoki. Usagi turned to look at him, stapling a smile to her face. She'd been doing it all day and her face was starting to hurt just the slightest bit.

"Just peachy," she said, smiling harder. "These cookies of yours sure are divine." She lifted one and bit off a chunk just slightly larger than normal. She chewed hard, her teeth clanging against themselves until her jaw ached.

"Right…" He scratched the back of his head. "You know, they're just studying."

"I know that," she said, pushing the cookies aside. "Not that I noticed. Actually, I don't even know who you're talking about. Naru and Umino?"

"Um…" Motoki sighed and caught a glance of Usagi catching a glance at Mamoru and his study partner. "He's just helping her with some physics. They're not on a date or anything."

"Yeah, sure." She crushed the other half of her cookie in her hand as she tried placing it back on the plate. "He's just helping her while she's busy helping herself to a helping of stupid Mamoru—umpf!"

Motoki stuffed a cookie in her mouth.

"Hey, you two!" Motoki shouted behind Usagi. She turned around and saw Mamoru and his study partner standing behind her.

She grumbled a hello through the cookie, waving at the two.

"Are you done already?" asked Motoki, reaching behind him to pour two cups of coffee.

"Yeah," said Mamoru, taking a seat next to Usagi at the counter. "We covered a good amount so I figured it was a good time to stop."

"Chiba-san is a master at this stuff," beamed the girl. "Hi, I'm Kazue." She held out a hand to Usagi.

The blonde stared at the outstretched hand swallowed her bite with difficulty. Usagi slowly reached for the hand, giving Kazue a small smile. "Hi. I'm—"

"Usagi, right?" Kazue grasped her hand and gave a friendly shake. "Nice to finally meet you."

Usagi gaped at the woman who apparently knew her name. "Finally?"

"I, uh, may have mentioned you once or twice." Mamoru shrugged nonchalantly as his cheeks pinked. "Maybe you should head out, Kazue-san," he suggested with a small glare.

"Fine, fine. I'll see you in class—ooh, coffee!" Kazue grabbed the cup Motoki held out for her and turned to leave. "Oh, and Chiba-san?" She glanced back at them, as she made her way to the door. "She's just as cute as you said."


	78. Bumping Into him

A special thankies to "MExTRUNKS4ever" for this idea! She sure keeps me on my toes! :D

How can bumping into someone turn to kissing? Find out below!

* * *

"Late, late, late!" cried Usagi. She clutched her school bag tighter and swiveled around a skateboarder.

"Hey! Watch it!" The skateboarder stumbled but regained his footing.

Usagi turned around for a quick second to yell at him. "Sorry!" She spun back, running—"Umpf!"

"Ugh! Woah!"

She felt a pair of hands grab her waist, keeping her upper body steady. Her lower body was in total disarray as her legs fumbled, entangling themselves with another pair longer, thicker legs.

"Hold on—we have to—," said a familiar voice.

"Wait—" She felt her bag drop between the two and her foot getting caught in one of the straps. She leaned forward but stepped on his shoe. "No, no, no—uha!"

Usagi lost her footing and slipped backwards, taking her partner with her.

She should've felt the ground beneath her but all she felt was the warm body on top of her. She should've felt the grass scratching her bare legs but instead she felt hands clenching her waist, pulling her upwards. She should've felt her head hit the flower bed but all she felt were the soft lips caressing her own.

Her first kiss.

It was a monumental moment.

She should be fretting over this act. Fussing over how she was going to perform. Which way to twist her head to avoid bumping noses. How to move her lips—left or right? Up or down? Open or closed? Should she wear lip gloss? She should be worrying about who to have her first kiss with. Worrying about how she would ever think of having it with anyone but her arch nemesis—because she couldn't see herself performing such an intimate act with anyone but him.

But she didn't have to worry about that.

Truth be told, her mind was at a loss to worry about anything but feel the soft lips nibbling at her own.

"Odango," he murmured, licking her bottom lip.

Her moan escaped as she grasped his tongue with her lips, pulling his head back down.


	79. Need

Another special thanks to "MExTRUNKS4ever" for this idea! Here's Usagi singing a song that represents how she feels for Mamo-chan.  
Before I get any flames, I'd like to be upfront about this: I know very little about music, and most of my very limited knowledge comes from _Glee_. XD

So there might be a better song to use, but I probably wouldn't have heard of it.

Thanks, everyone, for all the support with this story! Read and review!

* * *

Usagi scratched out the math problem. She forgot to move the decimal point after converting from pounds to grams.

She sighed looking at her homework. After so many scratches, it was time to redo the problems on a new sheet instead of even attempting to give the paper to Haruka-sensei.

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her math book for a clean sheet of paper. Flipping it open, she blushed at the contents. Next to the quadratic formula was a chibi version of Mamoru and herself. The paper's borders had hearts with _Mamo-chan_ _+ Odango_ in the middle.

Usagi didn't think he'd ever call her by her real name. He was the only one that didn't call her Usagi or Usa-chan. It was always Odango Atama out of his mouth. On a few occasions he had called her Meatball Head—a popular American dish, he said. She liked the thought of him giving her a nickname, but she wished it was a bit more affectionate.

Yawning, she glanced at her clock, groaning as she read it was past one AM. The only solace was knowing she had less time to wait till she saw him again.

Usagi wondered if Mamoru ever had trouble sleeping. She once tried calling Rei during her insomnia nights and got an earful from the priestess.

And it's not like she had Mamoru's number.

Or could ever call him.

It would be weird. Right? Totally weird. He'd wonder why she'd call. And what was she suppose to say then?

Sighing, she turned towards her clock and turned on the radio.

_Picture perfect memories,  
Scattered all around the floor._

She laid back on her bed, humming with the soft music.

_Reaching for the phone cause, I cant fight it anymore._

Usagi groaned. She wished she could reach for her own cell, but alas fate was not so kind to her. She closed her eyes and sang along to the song.

_And I wonder if I ever cross your mind.  
For me it happens all the time._

_It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now.  
Said I wouldn't call, but I lost all control and I need you now.  
And I don't know how I can do without, I just need you now._

Her eyes shot open. That was it. That was what she was suppose to say.

She _needed_ him.

And she had no idea how to tell him...


	80. Paper Balls

Another special thankies to "MExTRUNKS4ever" because it's just so cute to make her smile! ^-^

Thanks everyone for the reviews and support! It's phenomenal to know people are willing to stick around with a project like writing a 100 drabbles!

* * *

"Usagi!" called Ami. The bluenette looked up from her day planner from her booth to the blonde that was sitting at the counter of the Crown Arcade. "Do you have the problems Haruka-sensei wanted us to do for next week? She told me to get them from you."

"Mmmhhm!" The blonde nodded her head and gulped down the last of her milkshake. "Here, let me get the sheet." She ruffled through her bag, pulling at the stray sheets of paper. "It's here somewhere—ah, got it!" She separated a crumbled packet from the bunch, straightening out the pages against the counter. "It's a bit wrinkly," she called to Ami. Ami sighed but didn't bother responding.

"Not too wrinkly," said Motoki looking down at the sheet. He leaned in closer to whisper to her. "I'd be more worried about the doodles on the page, personally." He winked at her as she blushed at her drawings.

Hearts floated around the boarders of the page with _Odango + Mamo-chan_ in the middle. There were big hearts, little hearts, and a few pink and red hearts she couldn't resist adding after finding her gel pens.

She tried to hide the drawings with her hands, but the proverbial cat had left the bag. "I, uh…"

Motoki chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Just be glad it was _me_ that saw it." Usagi paled at the thought of Mamoru seeing the page. She couldn't even imagine what he would think. Would he mock her? Probably. Confess his own undying love for her? Probably not… "Maybe you should crumple it back up so no one else sees, ne?"

She nodded her head, crushing the page into a paper ball.

"Usagi!" Ami whined looking at the ill shape of her homework.

"Don't worry," said the blonde, turning to her friend, "you can still read the questions!" She leaned forward toward the booth. "Here, catch—I'll throw it to you."

Usagi swung her hand, throwing the paper ball.

Ami gasped in outrage. "You shouldn't throw homework—"

"Hey, 'Toki—wha?" Mamoru yelped as the ball hit him. His hands moved fast enough to catch it before it hit the floor.

"No, that's mine! Gimme my schoolwork!" Usagi jumped out of her seat, rushing towards Mamoru before he could unfold the paper.

"A rolled up ball of your school work hits me in the head," said Mamoru, holding the paper out of the blonde's reach. "Remind you of anything, Odango?" He smirked at her, tossing the ball in the air to catch it again.

Usagi blushed remembering how the two met.

She jumped up, trying to catch the paper. "It's not my fault you got in my way—_again_. I was throwing that to Ami!"

"What is this, another exam?" He held the paper ball steady, a few inches too high for her to reach. Taunting her. "Mind if I look to see if you're improving your test scores, Odango?"

The blonde choked at the thought of him discovering the contents of the paper. Of all the ways she'd imagined telling Mamoru about her feelings, this wasn't an option—him accidentally discovering her covert artwork was a recipe for embarrassment, not long lasting love.

"_Gimme that!_" Usagi jumped up again. Her fingers touched the paper before gravity struck, bringing her back down with Mamoru still holding her heart in his hands.

"Let's just take a quick peek." He moved to open the paper ball.

Usagi yelped as his fingers moved. "No, no, no, no, no_—_"

"_Ahem!_" Somebody behind cleared their throat.

The pair turned to look at Ami, her arms folded and a severe expression on her face.

"Hand it over." She held out a palm for the paper, glaring at the pair. Mamoru shoved the blonde behind him, as if trying to spare her from Ami's wrath. He carefully placed the paper ball on her hand. "_Thank you._"

She moved back to her booth, grumbling under her breath about lack of respect and homework.

Usagi held Mamoru's arm as she glanced at Ami from the side.

"Ami-chan's scary."

"Very," confirmed Mamoru, edging away from the bluenette and her booth. He wrapped his arm around Usagi's shoulders and led her back to her seat at the counter. "So what was in that paper anyway?"

"I, uh…" Usagi's cheeks pinked. "I'll tell you one day. Soon."


	81. Out Loud

Here's Mamoru saying out loud the things he loves about Usagi! A special thanks to "MExTRUNKS4ever" for this idea!

* * *

Mamoru hummed along with the elevator music as it took him to his floor, whispering the words.

_L is for the way you look at me_

He could already picture his Odango smiling back at him. She'd sway along with the song, her long strands of hair floating with every move.

_O is for the only one I see_

_V is very, very extraordinary_

The lift stopped on his floor and opened the doors with a _Bing!_ He stepped out, still hearing the music before the elevator doors closed behind him.

_E is even more than anyone_—

"F is for always letting me knock into you."

There was a skip in his step as he whispered his own lyrics down the hall.

"G is the gorgeous smile every time we meet."

"H is how you make me melt—"

"Good afternoon, Chiba-san," said his neighbour.

Mamoru looked up to see his elderly neighbour exiting her apartment. She smiled, holding back her laughter. His face turned red as he realized she must've heard him.

He scratched the back of his head, turning to his door. He fumbled with is keys, hoping to make a quick escape into his apartment. "I, uh, was just—"

"You were just enjoying being young and in love," she said, her eyes twinkling. She moved towards the elevator.

"L-love?" Mamoru stumbled back, sputtering. "I-I wouldn't say love—"

"But that's what the I is for." She turned to him, standing in the elevator. Pressing her button, she gave him a little smirk. "Young man, when someone sings a song like that, you always know what _I_ is for: I is for _I love you_."

"Wait—wha—?"

The elevators doors shut.


	82. The Girl Who Waited

Thanks to all my reviewers! You guys are awesome! :D

* * *

"Think you'll go?" asked Andrew. He wiped the counter as they talked.

"I might." She shrugged her shoulders and sighed. "It's not that I don't want to go—he's not a bad guy or anything, and it's not like I hate dances for some odd reason. Just…"

"I think I get it." Andrew nodded his head. "There's nothing pushing you to go. There's nothing pushing you to stay either—just nothing making you _want_ to go."

"Right!" she said. "Exactly. It's not like I've been really wanting to go to a dance. And I'm not exactly waiting at the edge of my seat waiting for Jason to ask me or anything."

"Girls your age date, but it's not like you have to star dating," said Andrew, shrugging. He leaned in closer. "Or maybe he's not the one you want?" He raised an eyebrow at her, giving her a sly smile.

She looked up at him, her cheeks slightly pink. "Maybe…" She shook her head and sighed. She turned back to Andrew. "Think _he'll_ ever ask me? Or should I just go out with Jackson?"

"First of all," said Andrew, laughing, "it's Jason."

She grimaced at her mistake. "Right."

"You might want to get the name right if you want to date Jason." Serena nodded her head. "Second," he said, raising an eyebrow, "is _he_ worth waiting for?"

"Hey, you two," said Darien, pulling up a seat. "What're you talking about?"

"Stuff," said Andrew, reaching over to pour Darien a cup of coffee.

"Meatball head," said Darien, reaching over to ruffle her hair. She glared at him but leaned in to his touch. "Buy you a milkshake?"

She turned to Andrew, giving him a small smile. "Yeah. And," she said, turning to Darien, "I'd love a milkshake."


	83. Mirror, Mirror

Thanks for all the comments and support, guys! Read and Review, please!

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"Hi, Andrew," said Serena, taking her usual seat at the counter, "what're you doing with that mirror?"

"I picked it up at an antique store." He polished the frame and then the mirror with his washcloth. "Pretty, no?" Andrew showed her the roses adorning the sides of the frame.

"It's really nice!" she agreed. "It looks mystical."

"Well," he said, leaning in close, "the owner did say it had a certain magic power."

He turned the mirror so it faced her, reflecting back her curious expression.

"What does it do? Does it show the future? Tell you which one's the fairest of them all? Tell me, tell me!"

"Fairest of them—no! This isn't Snow White, silly." Andrew let her hold the mirror, as he sat down behind the counter. "It kinda tells the future—flip it around. There's an inscription on the back."

"Huh." Serena slowly turned the mirror in her hands. "Look into the _mirror_, and you shall see the form of your husband."

"Pretty cool, right?"

"Yeah," she said nodding her head. "Does it work? Have you tried it yet?"

"Uh," said Andrew, scratching the back of his head, "I'm kinda looking for a wife in the future—not a husband."

Serena laughed as he blushed. "Right, sorry. I forgot."

"Real funny." Andrew stuck out his tongue at her. "Here," he said, turning the mirror back so it was reflecting her again. "Let's try it out on you, 'kay?"

"Fine," she said, "but if this thing shows Melvin, I'm going to—"

"Hey, Meatball head," said Darien, standing behind her. He bent down so the mirror showed the pair of them in its reflection. "What're you looking at?"


	84. Cat Problems

"Luna kicked me out of my room," Serena groaned, looking down at her math homework.

"Wait—your _cat_ kicked you out of your room?" Darien stared at the blonde, wondering what exactly she was saying.

"Yeah," she said, sighing. "She said I'm not allowed back until I finish this math worksheet." She erased a few scribbles on her homework.

"Don't erase that hard." Darien grabbed her arm, lifting her hand from the paper. "You'll tear the sheet."

"But it's wrong!" She pouted, looking up at him. "And I don't know how to solve the problem…"

"Here," he said, scooting next to her. He grabbed her pencil and turned the paper towards him. "I'll help you with it; heavens forbid your _cat_ kick you out of your own bed." He rolled his eyes at the thought but left it alone.

Serena watched Darien read over the homework problems. Huh, she thought to herself. I owe Luna two cans of tuna tonight; the trick _did_ work!


	85. Rabbit Season

Thanks everyone for the reviews! I got 300! :D *Does river dance.* You guys are the best!

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Mamoru stood behind the corner of a building, hiding in the shadows. He checked his watch for the third time. "She's late…" he whispered, slightly irritated but not at all surprised.

"Hey, Mamoru," said a voice. The dark haired man turned to see Motoki holding a bag of groceries. "What're you—umph!"

Mamoru clamed his hand over his friend's mouth, dragging him further into the shadows.

"Shhh!" Mamoru commanded, his eyes giving a no-nonsense glare.

"Umph gmph ummmpff!" Motoki grumbled against the hand, trying to shake his head away. He wanted to use his hands but they were busy keeping a tight hold on his grocery bags so they wouldn't fall.

"Alright," he whispered, "I'll move my hand. But be very, very quiet."

Motoki nodded his head; anything to make Mamoru remove his hand. The dark haired man relaxed his hand, and then moved it away from his friend's mouth.

"Goah!" Motoki groaned, taking in a deep breaths.

"I said quiet!" gritted Mamoru through his teeth. He glared at Motoki again then checked his watch. "Any minute now."

"Sorry. Right; be very, very quiet." Motoki adjusted his grocery bags. "So," he whispered, "what're you doing, anyway?"

Mamoru grinned at Motoki, and then glanced at the street from the corner of his eye. "I'm hunting rabbits."

"Huh." Motoki leaned back against the building. "How very Elmer Fudd of you. I'm surprised you don't have the hat and musket to go along with this—"

"There she is!" Mamoru jumped out of the shadows, landing in the middle of the sidewalk.

A speeding blonde yelped in surprise. "No—watch out—"

"Careful—ompf!"

Mamoru found himself laying underneath a warm, blonde body. He could feel her hair tickling his face and neck. Limbs tangled with his own, he stayed laying on the sidewalk, pretending to catch his breath. He hoped within all of the confusion, no one would bother searching his face to find a giddy little grin.

"Usagi," Motoki called from above, "are you okay?"

She groaned, trying to pick herself up above the dark haired man.

"I'm so sorry, baka." She lifted off his body. "It's been happening the entire week!"


	86. Ren Fest

Thanks for all the awesome reviews, everyone! Hope everyone's having a good start to their week!

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"Fair lady, I hope your day has gone splendid," said a jester to Serena. He gave her a bow and jingled the bells on his red and yellow hat.

Serena had seen many jesters today on her visit to the Renaissance Festival.

"Thank you." She gave a small bow, playing with the ruffles on her sleeves. "It has surely been a most exciting day."

"Perhaps," said the jester, extending a hand, "you would enjoy a stroll with a merry jester?"

"Um," she said, moving backwards, "I really shouldn't—"

The jester moved forward. "Just a quick walk—"

"She's busy."

Serena felt her back knock into someone. She froze recognizing the voice. Looking behind her, she saw Darien. He was wearing a white peasant shirt.

The jester's hat jingled again. "I asked the lady. She can speak for herself, no?"

"Fine," Darien groaned. He nudged Serena's shoulder. "Meatball head, tell him you're busy."

"I can tell him myself!" She turned to Darien, glaring at him. "I can say no to him on my own!"

"Please." He rolled his eyes. "You would've totally give in to lover boy."

Serena looked back to where the jester was standing to see him already gone, talking to another girl.

"I could've told him!" she claimed, turning back to Darien.

He had already walked away, but not too far so she could catch up with two large steps.

"Just admit it; you need me," he said, turning back to smirk at her.

She ran up to him, walking along as they came at a bridge.

"Can your ego get any bigger?"

Darien stepped on the bridge, turning to face her. He continued walking backwards, staring at her.

"Notice," he said, smirking again, "you didn't deny you needed me." He winked at her and whistled innocently.

"You're such a jerk!" She pulled him to a stop, halting them at the center of the bridge. "Why would I need you? You're just a big, mean—"

"Well, at least I'm nice enough to make stupid jesters—"

She groaned, grabbing his hands. "I told you: I could've told him no—"

"Yeah, but you didn't—"

_Ding! Ding!_

The pair turned to see man with a preacher hat ringing a bell. Several girls surrounded him, giggling and throwing flower petals.

"Already fighting like you've been married for years," he said, laughing at them. "Are you sure you really need a ceremony?"

"What're you talking about?" Darien looked at Serena, but she seemed equally confused as him.

"Don't you know where you are?" asked the preacher.

One of the giggling girls pointed to a sign up ahead.

_Lover's Bridge: Enchantment doth behold, Lovers at bridge's center take hold._

The pair looked down at Serena still clasping Darien's hands.


	87. Time Machine

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"H G Wells," read Darien, glancing at Andrew's book.

"The Time Machine's a good one." Andrew put down his book on the counter and reached for a pot of coffee. "Want some pie?"

"Sure. " Darien watched Andrew pour the coffee. "Thanks," he said, taking the cup. "What would you do with a time machine?"

Andrew pulled out an apple pie and a pie cutter. "Big question." He grabbed a can of whipped cream, squirting some on a slice—"Ugh!" White cream squirted on the table.

"Here," said Darien, passing him a few napkins.

"Well, at least I know what I'd do with a time machine now…" He wiped the counter clean.

"Hi, Andrew," said Serena, pulling up a seat. "Ooh, pie!"

"Here, Meatball Head." Darien passed her his slice. "Just don't ask for whipped cream—hey!" Darien laughed, catching a few napkins Andrew threw in his direction.

"What would you do with a time machine, Serena?" Andrew finished slicing up the entire pie.

"Umm," she swallowed her mouthful. "Oh, I know! There was this cake I ate at Molly's house. Her mother's aunt's next door neighbor's daughter or something gave it to her."

Darien swiped a spoonful of the pie off her plate. "And you'd go back in time to…?"

"To eat that cake over and over again. It was _really_ good cake!"

"That's an interesting thought," said Andrew, nodding his head. "Repeating a single moment over and over again."

Darien shrugged his shoulders and took another sip of his coffee. Repeat one moment over and over again, he thought.

He remembered last week when he saved Serena's cat out of a tree. The blonde rewarded with a kiss on his cheek. Now there's a moment he wouldn't mind repeating over and over again.


	88. Have You Ever

Sorry for the long wait, guys. I didn't have internet for a week so I couldn't update. ;_;

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"Ever changed a tire on a car?" asked Darien.

Serena glared at him. "I've never even driven a car…"

He laughed, nodding his head. "Right; my mistake."

"Waste of a question," she said, sticking her tongue out at him. "Have you ever told Andrew the truth about his famous raspberry treacle?"

"Oooh!" winced Darien. He peeked at Andrew, but thankfully his friend was busy teaching a few kids how to play the latest _Sailor V_ game.

Serena turned to hear the kids laughing as Andrew fired at the _youma_. "The new game's suppose to be twice as hard."

"You haven't played it yet?" asked Darien, surprised. "I thought you'd be the first one in line."

"I'll get to it." She shrugged her shoulders. "Now stop avoiding my question—did you tell him or not?"

"Uh…" Darien scratched the back of his head. "Not in so many words."

"What does that mean?"

"It means," he said, "he may have caught me spitting it out on my napkin."

"Ouch! Was he mad?"

"A little. Though he felt better since someone finally told him why no one bought it more than once."

"Yeah," she nodded her head, "it's nice to see that off the menu."

"Alright, my question." He leaned in closer, staring into her blue eyes. She swallowed nervously and licked her lips. "Have you ever loved anyone?"


	89. Ignorance

Thanks for all the reviews! I really appreciate them! I've got steady internet now so I'll hopefully be updating more frequently again! :D

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Andrew wiped the counter while talking to Darien. "Imagine if you will—"

"I hate this game." Darien interrupted.

"I provide you free coffee; you listen to my banters," said Andrew, taking a seat on his side of the counter.

Darien grunted, but took a sip of his coffee in acknowledgment.

"Glad to see you agree. Now, imagine if you will that she says yes—"

"She thinks I'm the biggest jerk on this side of the milky way. She wouldn't say yes—"

"But what if she does?" asked Andrew.

"She hates my guts." Darien shrugged, and leaned back in his seat as if accepting defeat.

"You don't know that. She might say yes."

"I think there's a limit on the banter—"

"Only if there's a limit on the coffee." Andrew raised a full pot of coffee and raised an eyebrow at Darien.

"Banter away," grumbled Darien, accepting another cup of the rich elixir.

"Now, if she says yes, you wouldn't need to worry about this anymore."

"But if she says no—"

"Why are you so worried about her saying no? You could—"

"You don't get it!" Darien shoved the coffee away and pulled at his hair. "I like her—not just like her, but like _like_ her. If she says no then—ugh—just—"

"Woah!" Andrew reached over and patted Darien's shoulder. "Calm down, Dare. I was just offering you an out—"

"But that's the thing—logically I should take this stupid out. Put myself out of my misery, you know?"

"Right," said Andrew, nodding along. "But…?"

"Ugh!" Darien rubbed his face. "But—I guess—I guess it's easier to live with the _possibility_ that she could say yes. I mean, as long as I don't ask her, I don't get a definite no. So I just need to not ask her. And—and that's better than being rejected."

"Living in ignorant bliss?"

"It's the wuss' way out, I know." Darien shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "But it's better than hearing her say no…"


	90. Oogling

Wow, chapter 90! The end is near... O_O

Read and Review, please! ^-^

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"Wow," said Serena, fanning herself. "Now that's a real man."

"Oh yeah." Molly let out a dreamy sigh. "We should've done this sooner."

"Most definitely," agreed Serena.

She leaned back on the bench the two were sharing while watching construction workers lift heavy cinder blocks and sheet metal to build additions to a building. The hard hats blocked the men's faces, but the girls were given full views of glistening muscles peeking out from tee shirts and white wife beaters.

"That's my favorite part," said Molly, subtly pointing at the men as they bent to pick up another cinder block.

"Mine, too." Serena nodded her head. "Great view."

Molly laughed, agreeing.

"Wait-wait—no," interrupted the blonde, "_that's_ my favorite!"

The muscled workers lifted the blocks, their muscles flexing.

"God, their arms are huge." Molly sighed.

"No, no, I change my mind again. _That's_ my favorite part!"

The blonde twisted in her seat as the workers lifted the cinder blocks onto their shoulders and walked towards the building as if they carried nothing heavier than gumdrops.

"Agreed," said the red head.

"Why can't I be carried away by some big, hulking dreamboat like that?"

"You know," said Molly, "I never thought I'd ever envy blocks of cement before."

Serena laughed, feeling quite the same as her friend.

"I should feel guilty for oogling." Molly twirled her hair and licked her lips.

"I know what you mean," nodded the blonde, not looking away from the men. "But…"

"Woah!" The red head sat up straight. "One of them's coming this way!"

Sure enough a worker departed from the rest of the group and was walking towards the pair and their bench.

"Do you think they saw us drooling over them?" Serena shrieked.

"We weren't exactly being subtle about it…"

"Maybe we should make a run for it?" The blonde turned to her friend.

"Too late! He's almost here!" Molly grabbed Serena's hand, trying to think of an explanation why two teenage girls were watching working men instead of finishing their homework. She wasn't sure if exploring job options first hand would be a buyable excuse…

Serena on the other hand was taking in the form that stood a few feet away from the pair and walking ever closer. She couldn't see much of his face due to his hard-hat, but his white wife beater undershirt left nothing to the imagination. His heavy biceps reminded her of a dark haired someone and made her wonder how developed _his_ biceps were. More often than not she found herself comparing guys to Darien.

The construction worker stood in front of them and crossed his arms. Serena imagined he was glaring at them but couldn't be sure since she still couldn't see most of his face due to the hard hat.

Molly squeezed her friend's hand harder. "W-w-we weren't doing anything—"

"—not staring or anything! J-just sitting."

He grunted at them and shook his head. His hand reached upward, slowly removing the hard hat to reveal a mane of dark hair.

Serena gasped. She knew that hair color. Her eyes inching downwards, she stared into dark blue pools that wouldn't let her look away.

"Enjoying the show, Meatball head?"


	91. Silent Treatment

"Hey, Meatball Head. Trip over anything today?"

Serena turned to Darien, her face devoid of emotion. "Good morning," she said with a nod.

He stared at her, waiting for a retort.

"What? No screeching or calling me a jerk?"

The blonde turned her head towards Andrew.

"Chocolate milkshake, please," she ordered.

"Coming right up," said Andrew. He glanced at Darien to see his friend glaring at him. Andrew shrugged and reached to get her milkshake.

"Did you walk into a pole and whack that empty head of yours or something?"

Serena didn't even turn around. She just sat still, waiting silently for her order to be filled.

Darien pulled at the golden locks of her hair. "Meatball head?"

Again getting no reaction, he tugged on her hair harder. He saw her wince a little and let the hair slide away from his finger tips.

"Silent treatment, eh?"

She looked down at her nails and pretended to file them with her finger tips.

He gave a disgruntled grunt and sipped his coffee.

"One chocolate milkshake," said Andrew, placing the drink in front of her.

"Thank you!" Serena smiled at him. She reached for the cup. "Hey—that's mine!"

Darien held the drink in his hand, keeping it far enough away that she couldn't reach it without getting closer to him.

"Why won't you talk with me?"

"Hmph!" She turned around in her seat to face him. "I said good morning."

"That doesn't count."

"Those are words and I said them to you—they count."

"Fine," he grunted. "But why won't you fight with me?"

"It's unhealthy," she said, crossing her arms.

Darien narrowed his eyes. "Says who?"

"Amy." Serena looked away and took in a few deep breaths. "She said it's bothersome and it'll end up hurting if we fight all the time."

"That might be true in most situations." He shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "I didn't realize it was bothersome to you."

"It's not—bothersome, I mean. But she said…" She stole a glance at him and bit her lips.

He nudged her foot with his own. "She said…?"

Serena looked at him again. "She said that—that if we fight all the time, one of us might get really hurt and…" she shrugged her shoulders and looked away. "And I didn't really want that happening…"

"Okay." He nodded his head in understanding. "If you don't want to fight 'cause it might hurt you—"

"No, not me," she interrupted She was on the edge of her seat, her eyes wide and hopeful. "I like fighting. With you, I mean—not _fighting_ fighting, but you know. Amy said you could angry and hurt and I didn't want that happening…"

It touched him that she was doing all this just to protect him. But if he had a choice in all of this...

"It hurts more when we don't fight," he said, shrugging. "I'd rather take the risk of getting angry if it means talking with you. But it's your choice." He reached over and put her milkshake back. "Here, drink up."

"Thanks," she said, reaching for it, "jerk."


	92. Unsent Letters

Thanks everyone for all the kind support and reviews! I can't believe I'm almost done with this challenge! Thanks for sticking around, guys! ^_^

For those of you who haven't reviewed yet, you only have a few more chapters left to leave a comment. :p

* * *

Dear, Darien,

I come to the Crown Arcade every day, and I tell people it's for the milkshakes and maybe that really was the original reason, but now it's not. I like seeing you everyday. You make me feel

Dear, Serena,

I know I call you lots of names, but that's only 'cause I like it when you pay attention to me. Maybe I called you Meatball Head the first few times because your hair was different, but now it's because I like knowing I'm the only one that gets to call you that. It makes me think that maybe one day

Dear, Darien,

I wanted to write you a letter because I can never find the right words to say anything to you out loud. Molly suggested writing it down might get my feelings out easier. So, about my feelings

Dear, Serena,

I never had trouble talking with girls because I didn't see them any differently than I saw guys. Getting flustered or nervous when talking to one never happened to me. Until you. Whenever I open my mouth around you, I can't stop myself from spitting out anything that'll get your attention in hopes you'd talk to me. Maybe it'd be easier if I wrote it down. What I've been wanting to say for so long is

Dear, Darien,

I never bothered getting to bed early 'cause I like late night TV. But then I always got to school late and I'd get detention. But I didn't care 'cause watching those shows was worth an hour in detention. But now I've been going to sleep earlier and missing those shows so I won't get detention. Because missing an hour with you when I'm stuck in detention isn't worth late night TV shows. So, what I'm trying to say is

Dear, Serena,

I own a coffee machine. It's really easy to use and it had a specific place on my counter. But I put it away when I met you. Now I only get my coffee at the Crown Arcade. Because then I can see you more often. I can get my coffee anywhere but I can't get you anywhere, so maybe you and I could


	93. Sweet Things

Thanks for all the reviews, guys! You all are the best! :D

* * *

"How can you drink that?"

Darien turned to her and noisily drank another mouthful. "Mmmm," he said, smacking his lips. "Coffee's soo good."

"Blech." She shoved his face away when he came closer. "Ewww!"

"It's not bad," he said, shrugging.

"It's so bitter!" She leaned over to take a look in his cup. "And you drank it all?"

He reached for her milkshake, shaking the cup. "So did you and this was just full of sugar."

"And chocolate!"

"And that's not a recipe of cavities at all," he said, rolling his eyes.

"My teeth are fine! At least my taste buds work."

"Just 'cause I like coffee? Half the world likes coffee!"

"But black coffee? There's no cream or sugar—how come you don't like sweet things?"

He watched her lean over and grab a napkin; she wiped a coffee stain near his cup.

Try as he might, he couldn't stop his lips from smiling. "I like some sweet things."


	94. Mocha

A special thanks to "MExTRUNKS4ever" for this idea of another coffee chapter. And "rainediamond" who kindly requested what the rest of us were all thinking: Yes, Serena and Darien should definitely kiss more. ;p

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"Hey, Meatball head." He gulped down the last of his coffee.

"Mornin'." She grabbed a seat next to him and fished out half a chocolate bar from her pocket.

"That stuff's gonna rot your teeth one day." Darien shoved his empty cup away.

She gave him a big toothy grin. "Perfect pearly whites," she announced and bit off a piece of her chocolate. "Better than coffee any day."

"Actually," said Andrew, joining the two from his side of the counter, "you might like mocha."

"Mocha? What's that?"

"It's a type of coffee," said Darien. He leaned over and snapped a piece of her chocolate bar for himself. "But it has chocolate in it. Andrew makes the best mocha ever."

"There's chocolate flavoured coffee?" She leapt forward, grabbing Andrew's hands in surprise. "I want one! Make me one!"

"Sorry, Serena, but that's not possible—"

"Please, please!" she begged. "I'd never even heard of it till now and I've just gotta—"

"But the coffee machine's broken." Andrew gave her a sad smile. "I was happy enough to get out to my early morning customers before it went kaput; Darien got the last cup, actually."

"But mocha…" She pouted and ate the last piece of her chocolate bar.

"You could get it from somewhere else," said Darien. Andrew threw a napkin at him, glaring at his friend. "But you shouldn't!" Darien leaned back in his chair, trying to get a little distance from the arcade owner. "Andrew makes the best—only go to Andrew. Never buy mocha from anyone else!"

"That's better," said Andrew, nodding his head. "The machine'll be fixed in a few hours."

"Hours? That'll take forever."

"Actually," said Darien, running his tongue over his teeth. He could still taste the coffee in his mouth. "I might have an idea—"

"To get mocha?" Serena turned to him.

"Yeah—"

"Ahem!" Andrew turned to glare at his friend again.

"To get _Andrew's_ mocha," clarified Darien. "Loyal customers till death!"

"Get me the mocha!" she cheered.

"Here," Darien grabbed her hand, "we're gonna use the backroom for a sec."

Andrew shrugged his shoulders and went to fill out orders for other customers.

"This might be a little weird," said Darien, closing the door to the back room. He led her to the couch. "So feel free to leave."

"Are you pulling out 100 year old mocha like 100 year old tofu?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. Here." He sat her down next to him. "Do you remember what mocha's made out of?"

"Chocolate and coffee."

"Right," he said, nodding along. "Now, you just ate some chocolate, right?"

"Yeah. I can still taste it. Why?"

"Smell my breath for a second—"

"What?" She crossed her arms and glared at him. "I've got a little brother, jerk, so you're gonna have to try harder than that to pull a prank on me!"

"It's not a prank, Meatball brains. Just trust me."

Serena glared at him, waiting for him to back out of a childish trick. He raised n eyebrow at her daring her to trust him. Sighing, she leaned forward, resting a hand on his thigh to hold herself up. She got face to face with him, catching his eyes staring at her. Her lips suddenly felt dry and she couldn't fight the urge to lick them.

Darien had held his breath as she gave in and leaned forward. Her blonde locks fell into her eyes and when she looked up at him, he felt his stomach drop and his lungs struggle to remember how to breathe.

And then she licked her lips.

He felt the breath choke out of his mouth. His chest rose high as he took in deep breaths and tried to keep from shaking.

"Coffee," she whispered, looking down at his lips. She felt his hot breath on her lips, heating them. They felt dry again. Her tongue darted out to wet them a second time. Darien let out a strangled groan. Her eyes shot back to his own and saw staring back at her.

"Your choice." There was a slight growl in his voice that made Serena shiver.

Her choice. She stole another glance at his lips. He had them open and she felt every warm breath. The smell of coffee waiting for her to indulge. Her eyes shot back to stare into his own. He wasn't staring at her any more. Not into her eyes, anyway. No, he was looking at her own lips. She felt another shiver down her spine.

"I…"

His eyes shot back to stare at her own.

"Yeah?" He raised an eyebrow and smirked at her.

That infernal smirk used to drive her nuts. Made her want to dump her milkshake on his head on more than one occasion.

But now it made her want. Want things she didn't know about. Made her breath catch her and lips dry.

She was tired of licking her own lips wet.

Reaching around his head, she grabbed him and pushed her lips onto him.

Soft, tender lips. He had soft, tender lips. Darien's lips were soft and tender. And she had first hand proof of it.

Serena shivered again, a tremor running down her spine and a heat filling her chest.

She heard Darien groan. His large, warm fingers cradling her head, gently arranging her at a better angle.

He gave her a few pecks and she closed her eyes tightly, leaning forward to try the same motion.

But he didn't give her a chance. She jumped slightly as she felt his wet, warm tongue tracing the seam of her lips. Instead of saying anything, he gently rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs, edging her head forward to accept the act.

"Come on," he whispered. She shivered as his warm breath caressed her now wet lips.

His tongue licked her bottom lip, his teeth slightly nipping it, trying to gently pull her mouth open.

"Let me in." He pecked her lips a few times and licked the seam of her lips again.

There it was again, she thought. Serena took in a harsh breath, feeling the hot breath against her damp lips. It never failed to make her shiver. Her fingers gripped his head tighter, afraid he would stop and let go.

"Meatball head," he groaned, pulling at her bottom lip with his own lips. "Open."

"Open wha—"

Her gasp caught in her throat as his tongue dove into her mouth. Her whole body shook as he caressed her tongue. She moaned into his mouth, which he whole heartedly accepted and gripped her closer.

She'd never felt this before. Didn't have a name for it. Did things like this have names?

She moaned harsher feeling his tongue lick her teeth. Her gums. He caressed the roof her of her mouth and her body quivered like a tightly wrung instrument.

Chocolate.

The taste of chocolate washed over her. The liquid heat caressing her as he filled her with a warmth that was itching to take over fully. And when she thought she'd reached her peak, he surprised her by pulling her into his own mouth.

Her whole body shuddered as gently nipped her tongue and sucked the pain away.

Serena could taste the strong hint of coffee. Bitter and over powering, she knew she should leave. As if reading her mind, Darien clamped his lips shut, holding her hostage. His thumbs rubbed her gently as his tongue stroked her own up and down. The sides were cradled gently and he traced the bottom, lathering her with a new taste.

She knew the taste of chocolate, and this wasn't chocolate. But it was close. And coffee—the overpowering flavour hadn't left completely because she sensed a new taste. And this taste was similar to coffee, but it was slightly different.

This taste was sweeter, sweet like the chocolate. But huskier. A little rough but with a tinge of ecstasy that made her coming back for more.

She moaned as the taste grew stronger and nudged him slightly. He let his hostage go, but she was already caught too deep. She had a taste and she wanted more. Forever entangled.

Caressing his own tongue, she prodded him back into her mouth. They both moaned as chocolate and coffee already started mixing into the new taste. And they were far from done with the new flavour.


	95. Desert Island

Thanks for all the reviews and support, everyone! This project is slowly winding down and I appreciate all the kind words everyone's said about the chapters thus far! ^-^

* * *

"If you were shipwrecked," said Andrew, "all alone on a desert island—"

"Not even monkeys for company?" asked Serena.

"Not even monkeys for company; maybe a few crabs—"

"But they're crabby crabs," interrupted Darien.

"Anyway," continued Andrew, "what three things would you take?"

Serena leaned back in her chair, thinking deeply.

"Survival guide," said Darien, counting off on his fingers.

Andrew wrote down the answer on his note bad but didn't look happy about it. "I think that's cheating."

Darien rolled his eyes. "Wouldn't want to upset the shipwrecked police on their precious desert island—"

"Chocolate!" declared Serena, counting off on her own fingers.

"Endless supply of it?" asked Darien.

"Of course!"

"Alright," said Andrew, writing down on his notepad. "That's two things for you both. Now what last thing would you take with—"

"No, wait," said Darien, crossing his arms, "that's only one each."

"Oh, I didn't tell you?" Andrew looked up from his writing. "You're on the island together; you take three things together as a group. So far it's a survival guide and chocolate—"

"You put me on a desert island with him?"

"We would kill each other," growled Darien. "We barely get along in public—"

"Maybe," said Andrew, "you should take this _hypothetical_ scenario as a means of getting along—having a more civilized relationship."

"I don't know…" Serena peeked at Darien from the corner of her eyes.

"I guess," said Darien, sighing, "we could find some common ground."

"Now that's better." Andrew smiled at the two. "Maybe you should consider this last option together—what items can you eliminate?"

"Girls Scouts taught me how to start fires," said Serena, "so we don't need matches."

"Don't need water bottles—I can boil salt water to get fresh water," said Darien.

Andrew looked down at their answers. "Maybe pick something to help you two be nicer to each other?"

Darien tugged at Serena's blond locks. "How about a bed?"


	96. Wedding

Thanks for all the support everyone! Anyone have any specifics for the last few drabbles? Humor? Kisses? Blatant declarations of love?

Read and Review, please!

* * *

"What do you want your wedding dress to be like?" asked Serena.

"Really poofy!" said Molly. "Like a big princess dress."

"Traditional white?"

"Yeah." Molly twirled a lock of her red hair, "Then again maybe white wouldn't go well with my hair…"

"How about a cream color?" asked Andrew, joining the pair. "Like a beige off-white."

Serena looked at him, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Again," he said, holding up his hands in defense, "_not_ gay."

"Right," said Molly, giggling.

"My sister has tons of bridal magazines as all." He shrugged his shoulders finding no problem that he was looking at his sister's bridal magazines.

"I guess an off white would be nice," agreed Molly. "Nothing too dark, though."

"Just avoid anything green or you'll end up looking like St. Patrick's day." Andrew turned to the blonde. "So, what about you, Serena?"

"White for me! With lots of pink flowers for the bouquet."

"Perfect," said Molly. "White and pink are both good colors on you."

"Hey." Darien joined the group, taking his usual seat next to Serena. "What're you all talking about?"

"Wedding dresses," said Andrew, smiling.

"I worry about you sometimes, Drew…"

Andrew huffed and folded his arms. "This isn't weird!"

"Right…" Darien rolled his eyes at his friend. "So, what's everyone wearing for their weddings?"

"The girls are going traditional," said Andrew. "I think I might go for a navy blue tux. Black's too overdone."

Darien leaned back from the counter, putting distance between him and Andrew. "You're seriously scaring me now…"

"Come on," said Andrew, scoffing. "I know you've thought about it, Dare. Share with us your dream wedding outfit."

Darien coughed, declining to admit he maybe have thought about the subject once or twice. "When the time comes," he said, "I think I might just let my bride pick out something for me."

"Just don't wear that green jacket," said Serena, "and I won't mind what you wear."


	97. Zoo

Thanks for all the support, everyone! You guys are great. :D

* * *

"Aww, look at that monkey!" Molly nudged Serena as they watched one of the monkeys in the zoo swing on a branch.

After some impressive flips it landed to sit with his friends and eat the apples and berries. It seemed to be lunch time.

Serena turned to the zookeeper. "You don't just feed them bananas?"

"Sure," he said, "but it's not like the movies—monkeys also eat oranges, celery, bread, leaves, and even raisins."

"Some people like variety in their diet, Meatball Head. Not everyone solely lives on chocolate." Darien came up from behind and squeezed one of her hair balls.

"I eat other food!" She turned to him glaring. "And what're you doing here, anyway?"

Darien pointed to a poster near them: FREE Zoo Day!

"It was in the paper and I wanted to see some zebras," he said, shrugging.

"Why zebras?" she asked. "They're just black and white and don't even do anything; they're like boring horses."

The monkeys stopped eating and turned to watch the pair.

He glared at her. "Zebras are not boring! Those stripes are awesome. All your monkeys do is make a lot of noise—if you put meatballs on their heads, they'd be just like you."

She growled at him and stomped her foot. "I _do not_ make a lot of noise!"

"And what do you call this? A silent movie?"

There was chattering in the background as the monkeys let out screeches listening to the pair fight.

"I take it back! Zebras aren't boring horses—_you are_!" She poked him in his chest. "You—_poke_—are the biggest boring horse ever!"

He grabbed her finger, stopping her from jabbing him again.

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"Guys," said Molly, trying to make soothing motions with her hands, "I think you should stop—the monkeys don't seem to like the yelling."

"He's the yeller!" cried Serena.

"Takes one to know one!" he shouted back.

"Please listen to your friend," said the zookeeper. He tried to distract the monkeys by waving his hands and showing more fruit. "The animals get edgy listening to people fight."

"We're not fighting!" shouted Serena. "He's just being a jerk."

"Better than a ditz!"

There was a loud high pitched screeching.

"Uh oh," said Molly, turning to see the monkeys shrieking and throwing their unfinished apples.

"This isn't good!" said the zookeeper.

"I can't believe you did this!" Darien glared at the blonde.

"Me?" she cried. "This was all your fault!"

"How is this helping?" The zookeeper turned to the pair.

"What do we do?" asked Molly. "Feed them more apples?"

"No," said the zookeeper, "they'll just throw anything we give them. We have to distract them with something."

"Right," said Molly, nodding her head. She reached for one of the red apples. "Anyone know how to juggle?"

There was a round of nos as the monkeys continued to screech.

"Oh!" The zookeeper turned to the pair. "Maybe you two should make up."

Serena looked away from the hollering animals. "Huh?"

"What do you mean?" asked Darien.

"It would make sense," said the zookeeper. "The monkeys got mad at you two for fighting—if you make up from the fight, they might calm down."

"Like a hug?" asked Darien.

Serena looked up at him. "I don't know—"

"Just do it, Serena!" cried Molly. "You've been wanting to kiss him for months!"

"Wait—what?"

"_Molly_! I'm gonna kill you!"

"Kiss me for months, eh?" asked Darien, raising an eyebrow. He smirked at her.

"It means nothing!" she said, backing away.

Darien tugged her closer. "I think it means a little more than hugging, Meatball head."

"Hug her or kiss her—either one's fine," said the zookeeper. He was trying to make soothing sounds to calm down the monkeys. "Just do it_ now_!"

Serena shook her head, blushing. "We shouldn't—"

"Just one kiss." Darien nudged her closer, holding her waist steady. "For the monkeys."

He bent low, waiting to feel her lips. Her fingers grasped the lapels of his jacket as she pulled herself up to meet him halfway. Instead of meeting her lips, Darien was surprised to feel that she met his—initiating the kiss.

Darien smiled at the thought that she wanted him more than she was willing to admit, even to herself. He moved his fingers up and down her back, feeling her shiver and hearing her small moan. Trailing a finger up her back and reaching her neck, he adjusted her head slightly and nibbled her lips.

"The monkeys seemed to have calm down," said the zookeeper. The once frantic animals now resumed eating their apples while watching the couple.

"I think you two can stop now," said Molly.

Serena tugged at Darien's shirt, lifting herself higher to do some nibbling of her own.

"Can you two hear me? Guys?"


	98. Messy Dessert

Thanks for the all support, everyone! Read and review!

* * *

"It's so tasty!" Serena smiled taking in another mouthful of her melted chocolate cake.

"Is it suppose to look like that?" asked Darien.

Her once white plate was covered in chocolate streaks and cake crumbs.

"It looked fine before I started eating—Andrew said it's like an inside out cake. The frosting's inside the bread part." She licked chocolate syrup off her spoon. "It's a messy dessert."

"I'll say; it's all over your face."

She scrubbed the corners of her mouth with her thumb. "Better?"

Darien looked at her clean face. "Almost. Let me get it."

He reached over and rubbed her near her lips with the back of his fingers. The blonde puckered her lips, brushing them against his fingers.

Darien jerked back his fingers, as if shocked by the sensation of her lips. He looked down at her fingers, then glanced up at her red lips.

Watching him stare at her, Serena nervously licked her lips. She watched his chest expand with a sudden intake of breath.

"All gone?" she asked.

"I, uh…" He took in a deep breath, trying to slow down his heart. "Yup, all gone." He stretched out his fingers, still feeling the tingling sensation.

She started at him for a moment, watching him look away. There was a slight hint of redness in his cheeks.

Looking down at her dessert, Serena clumsily took another mouthful, feeling some of the chocolate touch her face.

"Darien," she said. He turned back to look at her. "I think I got it on my face again."


	99. Pickmeup

One more chapter to go! I'll try to make the last one well worth the wait!

* * *

Andrew leaned in close to Darien, as if sharing a secret. "Do you have a Valentine yet?"

"Have you looked at a calendar recently?" Darien raised an eyebrow at his friend. "It's almost Halloween, Drew." He looked up at the clock.

"Maybe I like to plan ahead," said Andrew, shrugging his shoulders.

"Right…" Darien gulped down his coffee, finishing the cup. "Why're you asking, anyway?"

"Oh, no reason." He looked down at his nails, pretending to file them with his fingertips. "Just wondering how lively your romantic life is at the moment. A guy can be curious."

"It's almost nonexistent," said Darien sourly. He glanced up at the clock, noting it was almost four. His mouth formed a small smile.

"Any reason you keep looking up at the clock?"

Darien glared at his friend. "I like time."

Andrew returned with a mock glare and smiled a knowing smile. "Hey, Serena," he said, not looking away from Darien, "glad you could join us."

Darien rolled his eyes at Andrew and turned to her. "Anything new, Meatball head?"

"Just a long day." She turned to Andrew. "I could really use a pick-me-up, please."

"Well," said the arcade owner, "how about I give you a kiss?"

"_What?_" Darien almost leapt for him, his hands shaking.

"I'd love a kiss!" she said, smiling.

"You," said Darien, turning to her, "are _not_ getting a kiss from him." He turned back to Andrew. "Hands off of her!"

"I don't mind if he gives me a kiss. Really."

"It's just a kiss, Dare." Andrew lifted a hand to his mouth, trying to hold in his laughter.

"If it's just a kiss," said Darien, staring at Serena, "how about I give it to you? How'd you like that, Meatball head? Maybe I want to give you a kiss."

"I don't care who gives it to me," she said shrugging, "I just want a kiss." She looked from Darien to Andrew, and then back to Darien again. "Can I have it now, please?"

"You want it now—in front of everyone?"

"Sure. It's just a kiss."

"Fine," he growled. His hands grabbed her arms, tugging her closer until she almost slipped off her seat. "If you want one now—"

"_Here_, Dare." There was a flash of silver and a thud as something landed on the counter.

Darien turned to see a newly opened bag.

"_Chocolate_ _kisses_?"

"Give the girl her kiss, Dare." Andrew gave his friend a devilish grin, as if daring him.

He glared at Andrew, and then turned to Serena. "You were talking about _chocolate_ kisses this whole time?"

"Yeah, what else would—wait!" She gasped, her cheeks reddening. "You want to give me a kiss? Like a _kiss_ kiss? But—"

"I didn't know you were talking about chocolate—"

"You said I was klutzy—"

"—if stupid Andrew had just told me—"

"—and you make fun of my hair—"

"—it was an honest mistake! You could've—"

"—how was I supposed to know you like me—"

"—nobody even mentioned chocolate—umph!"

Serena stood between his legs, gripping his head tightly, her lips crushed over his own.


	100. Happily Ever After

Thank you, everyone, for all your amazing words of support and encouragement during this project! I couldn't have finished it without my readers patting me on the back and reminding me to continue writing.

Rest assured this is not good bye. I will be regularly updating my other stories and will see you all very soon!

* * *

Darien stared at his calendar. He had marked today with a red circle, making sure to remember it. As if he needed help remembering when he'd been anticipating this day since the beginning of the month. Sleepless nights looking up at his bedroom ceiling remember this anniversary.

Would she remember?

He doubted it.

Why would she bother remembering the first day they met? Two years ago today his life changed forever. Maybe she felt her life change a little after their meeting, but he doubted she would bother remembering today as anything extraordinary.

So he'd have to celebrate today by himself.

There was a skip in Serena's step as she made her way to the Crown Arcade. Seeing this date on her calendar brightened her smile like nothing else—not even double chocolate fudge cake.

Her hands nervously ran down her favorite pink skirt. She wasn't sure if Darien would at the arcade this early, but she didn't want to miss a single minute of spending time with him today. He might not remember meeting two years today, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't be happy for the both of them.

It's not like she wasn't already used to doing his part in her mind. More than once she imagined his reaction to her finally admitting she has fallen head over heels for him. Hard.

"Oomph—"

Breath left her body as she slammed into someone. And it wasn't just any someone—she knew this chest. Serena clutched her hands tight against his shirt, taking in the scent of roses.

Her body shivered as his hands traveled around her waist, folding themselves against her back and pulling her closer. His fingers tapped a rhythm on her skin, the spot tingling. She leaned into the touch, causing her body to be flush against his own.

Darien groaned feeling her soft curves against his hard body. There was no doubt about it: Serena had definitely grown in the past two years.

"You okay?" he whispered.

"Mmhmm," she murmured, nodding her head into his chest. She absent mindedly brushed her leg against his own, running the side of her knee up and down his—

"Whoa!" He shoved her back, separating himself from her touch. His hands clutched her shoulders, keeping her from moving closer to him again.

"Wha…?"

"Sorry." He breathed in deeply and tried to swallow the knot in his throat. "I shouldn't have—"

"Did I do something wrong?" She raised her hand, trying to touch his chest again. Seeing him twitch and shift back, she let the hand drop. She tried to look at him, but her eyes only reached up to his chin before she looked back down, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I didn't mean to—"

"It's not your fault," he interrupted. "Hey?" He shook her slightly until she raised her head to look at him again. Her cheeks were red and she couldn't stop biting her lips. "You bumped into me and I should've let go sooner—"

"I didn't mind it."

Serena took in a deep breath, willing herself to stand up taller. She had kept this to her self for too long, and now her secret was bursting from the seams. The choices were to either keep lying to herself and Darien, or to finally come clean about it all.

And today was a mighty good day to set the truth free.

"What're you—"

"I didn't mind it," she repeated, her voice stronger. "I don't mind bumping into you—and sometimes I plan it so I bump into you. I don't mind when you touch my hair. I don't mind the nicknames you give me. I don't mind—"

"You don't know what you're saying—"

"I know exactly what I'm—"

"You're too young to be—"

"I'm two years older!" Darien froze at her words, the breath caught in his throat. She couldn't have remembered…Could she?

Her hands lifted up to his chest, hovering right above his heart. "Two years today I met you," she said. Closing the distance, she rested her hand on his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin through the shirt. The rhythm of his heart escalating. "And I…" she licked her lips, watching him stare at her tongue move. "And I've loved you ever since."

Darien tugged her back into his arms, sealing his lips over her own. He swallowed her gasp, sliding his hands lower. Gripping her waist, he dragged her body higher up his own, forcing her to hold onto him to keep her balance.

She didn't seem to mind as she gripped his shoulders, pulling him closer. One hand gripped his neck, trying to keep his jaw steady. She pulled back slightly, her tongue stealing a lick.

He chuckled at her bravery.

"Don't laugh," she moaned in between his butterfly kisses. "I'm new at this."

"You're doing fine," he mumbled against her lips. He rubbed his hand down her back, causing her whole body to shiver. He groaned as she clutched his shoulder tighter. "Try again."

With a slight nod of her head, she leaned back to lick him again. Expecting to caress a pair of soft lips, she gasped feeling his mouth open and confine her tongue between his lips. She whimpered as he tugged at her tongue, holding it captive between his lips as he stroked the underside of it with his own. Her whole body shook as he caressed her again, sparks shooting up her back.

Encouraged her to play this new game, she scraped against his teeth, running away from his own caresses on this new battlefield. It was a new game of cat and mouse, and she had every intention of being devoured.

Her hand lifted higher, the fingers entangling themselves in his dark hair. She heard—no, _felt_ him groan into her mouth.

"_Hey, you two!_"

Their mouths detached.

Serena panted, harsh breaths struggling to fill her body. She saw Darien was in no better shape—she could feel his chest moving against her. Looking up at him, she could see the blush covering his cheeks. His lips looked redder. And swollen.

Licking her own lips, she noticed they felt thicker than usual. And she had a feeling the same tell-tell blush covered her own cheeks.

"You two can't be doing that in the streets!" An elderly woman chided them, wagging a finger.

Serena hung her head in embarrassment, her ears turning red. Tugging her closer in his arms, Darien rubbed her back in comfort.

She glared at the pair. "It's not right to—"

"We'll find a more private place for next time," Darien assured the woman.

She huffed at the pair and walked away.

He swirled patterns on Serena's back, eliciting another shiver from the blonde.

Lifting her head slightly, she stole a glance up at him. "Next time?"

"Definitely a next time." He tugged a hair bun on her head. "You're not the only one in love, Meatball Head."

She yelped in joy, jumping into his arms.

"I love you!" he said, spinning her around. "Love, love, love you!"

Laughter and shrieks of joy followed as they made their way—spinning the whole time—to the doors of the Crown Arcade.

Holding each other's hands in declaration, they both pushed open the door together.

Andrew looked up at the sound of the door. His eyes jumped from their hands clasped together to their red faces. Molly zeroed in on each of their swollen lips.

"Drew," started Darien, "we have something to tell you.

"Molly, You won't believe it!" said Serena, smiling. "Darien and I—"

Andrew cheered. "You two finally got together!"

Molly high-fived him, shrieking her own excitement.

"Finally!" applauded a full table near the door.

"Took them long enough!" said a man at a table, pulling out his wallet.

"How did you two know?" asked Serena as she and Darien made their way to the counter.

"Oh, that," said Andrew, waving his hand at them, "everyone knew."

"It was pretty obvious," said Molly, reaching closer to Andrew. "Do you have the book?"

"Obvious for everyone but you two." He rolled his eyes at them and chuckled. "Right, the book!" He reached around and pulled out a small black book.

"How much is the pot now?" asked someone, reaching up to the counter with his wallet in hand.

"It went pretty high after Valentine's Day," said Andrew, flipping through the pages of his black book.

Molly monitored the crowd as people started getting up out of their seats. "Everyone, please have your money ready."

"What pot?" Darien watched more people come up to the counter to surround Andrew.

"Uh, that…" He looked up from his black book after scribbling something quickly. "Molly, would you care to explain?"

"Sure," she said, nodding as she went behind the counter to stand next to Andrew. "We had a wager going for how long it would take you two to get together."

"_WHAT?_"

Darien scrambled to get to them, but Andrew and Molly jumped back too quickly.

Serena looked from the mob to the Molly. "How could you do that, Molly? We're friends!"

"Andrew did that math," she said, leaning over to confirm that they did in fact take checks as well as cash.

"Oh, it was pretty easy," Andrew said, smiling, "just need a notebook and some simple equations." Turning to the crowd, he called out, "Who had two years?"

"You made bets on us, Drew?"

"After waiting the first six months, we got bored and Molly suggested we make it more interesting—"

"Molly started this?"

"Yeah," he said, nodding his head, "it was her idea. Pretty smart girl if you ask me."

Serena turned to Darien. "I'm going to kill her."

"Fine, you kill Molly," said Darien, "and I'll take care of Andrew."

"Oh, don't be like that," said Andrew, getting a large cup of mocha and two straws. He placed the drink in front of them and handed each a straw. "Look at this huge crowd—"

"We've seen it," grumbled Darien.

"No," said Molly, pointing to the crowd, "_really_ look at them."

Glancing over, Serena saw all the happy smiles and coos aimed in their direction. Tugging Darien, she showed him the women clutching their hearts, the husbands whispering in their wives' ears, and the teenagers giggling with joy.

Darien smiled, pulling Serena closer to him. She nuzzled closer, kissing his cheek.

"All these people wanted to see you two off on your happily ever after."

* * *

AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING. ^-^


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